Amazon, alternative carriers gained parcel volume in 2026’s first half A person makes an Amazon delivery on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. · Supply Chain Dive · Massimo Giachetti via Getty Images Max Garland Tue, November 10, 2026 at 9:27 AM EST 2 min read AMZN +1.90% UPS -1.43% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
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Amazon posted a 9.7% increase in U.S. parcel deliveries in the first half of 2026 versus the same period in 2025 as the e-commerce giant relied less on UPS for shipping and ramped up its rural delivery coverage, according to an Oct. 27 news release from ShipMatrix, a shipping consultancy and analytics provider.
UPS' volume dropped 5.7% over the same stretch amid the carrier's planned Amazon delivery decline, ShipMatrix said. In June, UPS wrapped up a plan first announced in 2025 to slash its Amazon volume in half as the company pursued more profitable packages in other categories.
Amazon's 2026 growth adds to the company's market share gains in the parcel delivery space over the past several years. Last year, Amazon's logistics arm surpassed the U.S. Postal Service as the top U.S. parcel carrier by volume, although it still lagged behind UPS and FedEx in terms of market share by revenue, according to ShipMatrix data released in March.
Amazon's delivery activity has seen another big leap this year as the company works to rely less on outside partners such as UPS and the Postal Service. Amazon is also driving more shippers to use its delivery services through Amazon Shipping, which opened up to all customers earlier this year and has taken an aggressive pricing approach to boost volume.
Meanwhile, the Postal Service logged a 3.1% volume decline from H1 2025 to H1 2026, according to ShipMatrix data. While the agency has seen volume gains in its Ground Advantage service this year, other package shipping categories like Parcel Services and Priority Mail have posted declines, per the Postal Service's most recent earnings report. Postmaster General David Steiner has expressed an interest in the USPS pursuing heavier, higher-value packages to help improve its financial outlook.
On the other hand, FedEx posted a 4.6% increase in U.S. parcel volume over the same period as the carrier gained momentum in higher-value customer segments like automotive and healthcare.
Lost volumes from UPS and the Postal Service didn't exclusively result in market share gains for Amazon and FedEx's networks, according to ShipMatrix. An additional 145 million packages went to alternative carriers like OnTrac, Veho, Jitsu, DoorDash, SpeedX and UniUni, per the news release. The in-house networks of large retailers like Walmart also gained a portion of those diverted packages.
The overall parcel market will continue to see volume growth during the upcoming peak holiday shipping season, ShipMatrix forecasts. Volumes will increase by 4% compared to the same time period in 2025, aided by an extra shopping day on the calendar, per ShipMatrix. However, shippers are poised to be squeezed by higher parcel shipping rates and climbing fuel prices "that could go higher in December," the company added.
Amazon projects reduced reliance on USPS, UPS for delivery: report
