Amazon bars third-party merchants from using FedEx Ground for Prime

Amazon has barred its third-party merchants from using FedEx Ground for deliveries of Prime shipments.

In a message it sent to merchants in the run-up to Christmas, the company said the ban would last “until the delivery performance of these ship methods improves.”

FedEx Ground is still permitted for non-Prime shipments, while FedEx Express can still be used for Prime shipments. FedEx Ground, for services by road, is typically the slower but more economical option, while FedEx Express offers both national and international services by air.

However, Amazon’s decision has taken place in the context of a rapidly cooling relationship between the two companies. Last year both FedEx and Amazon finally acknowledged, either directly or indirectly, that they were competitors in the parcel delivery sector.

FedEx dropped both its Ground contract with Amazon and its Express contract for US domestic deliveries.

Amazon now delivers around half of its own parcels in the US, according to an estimate made by Morgan Stanley.

Source: TechCrunch

Header image: Matthew Henry