The peak holiday season is likely in your sights and that means your shipping volumes are starting to climb. The encouraging news? Indications are that households still “have the underpinnings to spend” according to the National Retail Federation. Plus, last week’s Prime Big Day Deals was Amazon’s biggest October shopping event ever, another positive indication of the resiliency of consumers.

At Amazon Freight, we’re gearing up for the season and helping prepare our customers for the busy time. Here’s what else we’ve been up to.

Events on the road and on the rails
It was back to school and back to the events circuit in September. Starting with Amazon Accelerate, the Amazon Freight team was out in full force, meeting with sellers and showing how our service can get their goods inbound to fulfillment centers reliably and quickly.

But it wasn’t just about telling the Amazon Freight story. Our team was there to listen. “What I love about these events is getting a chance to meet Amazon sellers and learn what they’re facing,” said Abel Guillen, Head of the Amazon Freight Inbound Account Management Team. “What stood out to me was that sellers truly value our ability to spend time one-on-one with them to listen about their current impediments to growth and then work together to find solutions – ‘we grow when you grow’ was the theme of the conversations.”

On the Accelerate stage, Guillen shared more about Amazon Freight to attendees and how successful shipping starts with sweating the details. Later on, Rebecca Salt, Director at Amazon Freight, interviewed Adam Bartell, Operations Manager at Intelligent Blends, an Amazon Freight customer. Bartell showed how his organization uses shipping as a competitive advantage to support their growth goals. He also gave guidance to sellers with tactical tips such as how to optimize space in trailers so “you’re never paying to ship air.”

On the rail side of transportation, September also saw the IANA Intermodal EXPO, a gathering of transportation professionals to discuss industry trends and new regulations. Our intermodal team was there to share Amazon Freight’s budding intermodal offering and how it can help organizations looking for an efficient way to move their freight with the power of Amazon. For our team, it was a chance to hear from customers and learn what’s happening on the cutting edge of transportation tech.

CSX sustainability award
Freight by rail has many sustainability benefits and CSX, a leading transportation company, is recognizing those organizations who are embracing it. They have named Amazon as a recipient of one of their 2024 CSX Customer Environmental Excellence Awards. Amazon was one of just six companies selected by CSX.

The award highlights organizations for their focus on sustainability initiatives and efforts to move part of their freight from truck to rail. The awards are given to businesses who are “embracing the environmental advantages of rail over trucks with a ‘highway-to-rail’ conversion.”

It’s a strong acknowledgement of Amazon’s commitment to rail. Earlier this year, we reached a significant milestone with more than 20,000 domestic intermodal containers. Amazon Freight’s intermodal offering combines those assets with Amazon’s advanced tech to help shippers move their goods across the country. Learn more by contacting our Enterprise Sales Team.

Freight opinions? We want them
In shipping, no week is the same. Rates fluctuate, warehouse staff need new training, orders for your product spike randomly, and more. It can be a lot for a busy shipper, and we want to better understand it.

That’s why we’ve started the Amazon Freight Shipper Forum. It’s a place where shippers like you can gather virtually and share your opinions. What are you experiencing as a shipper? What are your challenges? How are you addressing them?

We’re not just looking for your thoughts on Amazon Freight but the freight profession as a whole and your perspectives within it. For instance, on the forum, we’re asking shippers questions such as, “What does ‘reliability’ in freight really mean to you?” The top definition chosen by 68% of respondents is meeting promised delivery times. Or, as one participant said, reliability means shipping in a “hassle-free manner where the experience is problem-free.” This is just one instance of how we’re using the forum to better understand the industry and you.

If you’re interested in the forum, go here to learn more and start participating (note that the forum is hosted by Material, a market research agency). You don’t have to be an Amazon Freight customer to join.

What the future (for freight) holds
We’ll be closing out the events season in Chattanooga for the Freightwaves Future of Freight Festival November 19-21. The conference is a chance to discuss and explore how freight is changing and what to expect on the road ahead.

It’s also where the FreightTech 25 will be announced. These are the most innovative companies in the freight technology sector as selected by a group journalists, analysts and experts chosen by FreightWaves. Amazon Freight was named #1 last year and is one of the recently announced FreightTech 100 for 2025.

If we don’t see you in Chattanooga, we hope you have a successful holiday season!