Amazon enters the shipping business

ByBernal Saborio

It became clear that Amazon, which has been indispensable to life for some people, has finally taken the first step to handling marine transportation by himself.

Amazon Has Just Registered to Sell Ocean Freight
https://www.flexport.com/blog/amazon-ocean-freight-forwarder/


Amazon takes steps to move into ocean shipping | The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/15/10774124/amazon-ocean-shipping-china-license


This was revealed by "Amazon China" added to the list of contractors contracting maritime transportation from the registration information of the Federal Maritime Commission website. Amazon will enter the shipping market which is said to be 350 billion dollars (about 41 trillion yen).


In the document, the company name is "Beijing Century JOYO Courier Service Co. Ltd.", and the company name is "Amazon China". JOYO is the largest online retailer in China acquired by Amazon in 2004.

Flexport estimates that this shipping business is more attractive to Chinese vendors than buyers in the United States as to why they take the form of "Amazon China" rather than "Amazon".

Regarding the point of shipping, why is it now cited that the operating costs of shipping are cheap? For example, as of January 2016, the shipping cost of transporting one 40-foot container, which is the standard size container for marine transport, from Shenzhen to Los Angeles is less than $ 1,300 (about 150,000 yen). Since there are more than 10,000 containers in a container as parcels, the shipping cost will be about 0.14 dollars (about 17 yen) per parcel. Also, if you carry a flat-screen TV across the Pacific Ocean, the shipping cost is less than $ 10 (about 1180 yen).

Changing viewpoint, most of the cost of logistics depends on personnel expenses etc. If Amazon is promoting rationalization and automation to such an extent that it can be said that ordinary transportation companies can not automate what Amazon is doing, shipping costs can be drastically cut in shipping It is thought that it can be done. Furthermore, if you can deliver products directly from the place you produce to the consumer, you can cut down the cost of handling in the warehouse.

Flexport expects that transportation costs will be close to marginal cost due to Amazon's movement over the past 20 years.