Amazon might soon stop using the US Postal Service entirely. According to reports from The Washington Post, the online shopping giant wants to expand its own shipping network rather than rely on the government’s mail carrier. Right now, Amazon pays the Postal Service more than $6 billion every year to deliver packages. That check accounts for almost 8 percent of the agency’s total revenue, a big jump from the $4 billion Amazon spent just five years ago.
Amazon spent the last decade getting ready for this exact moment. The company bought its own fleet of Boeing cargo planes, rolled out thousands of electric delivery vans, and started testing drone deliveries. The numbers show just how massive their internal network has become. Last year, Amazon delivered over 6.3 billion parcels on its own, a 7% increase from the year before. In comparison, the Postal Service handled about 6.9 billion packages. That means Amazon already handles more than 90 percent of the entire US mail system.
This shift comes at a terrible time for the Postal Service. The agency loses billions of dollars annually and struggles to keep up with modern logistics. Their recent attempt to upgrade to electric trucks failed to gain traction, while competitors like Walmart and Amazon continue to invest in faster, high-tech delivery methods.
Negotiations between Amazon and the Postal Service have reportedly stalled. With the Post Office raising prices to cover its financial losses, Amazon has a strong reason to walk away. This potential breakup highlights a serious issue for the American public. As people send fewer physical letters and rely more on private companies for packages, the Postal Service faces a real threat to its survival. If Amazon pulls its business, it tears a massive hole in the agency’s budget. We might be watching one of the country’s oldest public services lose its footing in a market now dominated by private speed and efficiency.
