Courier and Messenger Services NAICS 4921, 4922

May 22, 2025 - Amazon and FedEx Team For Parcel Delivery

• Amazon and FedEx partnered in mid-2025 to deliver certain large Amazon packages to homes, the first time the companies have worked together since a high-profile split in 2019. FedEx joins rivals United Parcel Service (UPS) and the US Post Office as third-party providers of last-mile delivery services for Amazon. The move comes on the heels of UPS announcing a phase out of half its business with Amazon in the next year and a half amidst deep cost cutting, amounting to roughly $500 billion dollars in business. FedEx steps in to fill the gap left by UPS. Amazon and FedEx previously had a similar arrangement that ended six years ago as the two companies saw themselves more as competitors than partners. Last year FedEx was the only major shipping company that saw a parcel-volume decline in 2024 (-3.6%) and the Amazon deal gives them another revenue stream.
• The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced new service standards that will affect the delivery of certain types of mail as the federal mail carrier looks to save $36 billion over the next ten years. The USPS lost $9.5 billion in 2024 and close to $100 billion since 2017. Beginning on April 1, 2025, first class mail will still be delivered within one to five business days, but will be delivered at 75% of its current rate, 14% at a faster rate, and 11% at a slower rate, depending on the length of travel. Deliveries of marketing and direct mail, packages, and periodicals will be shortened. In addition to the delivery changes, the Trump administration has floated firing the USPS board of governors and folding the Post Office into the Commerce Department. Such a move would cause a political firestorm and would be potentially illegal without Congressional approval.

• The US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA) retail diesel fuel price decreased 37.3 cents per gallon during the 52-week period ending on December 30, 2024, to $3.503 per gallon. The benchmark retail diesel price was $3.876 a gallon on January 1, 2024. The relative stability of the recent market alongside the overall weakness of prices this year can be seen in the fact that the December 30, 2024, DOE/EIA price is the highest in four weeks, even as it is also the fifth lowest recorded in 2024, according to FreightWaves.
• Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of injuries among warehousing and “last-mile delivery” workers, according to the US Government Accountability Office. The transportation and warehousing industry had the highest serious injury and illness rate (3.8 cases per 100 workers) among the 19 sectors analyzed in 2022. The top cause of ailments among workers in the industry was “overexertion and bodily reaction,” which can lead to issues such as back pain. Contact with objects or equipment and slips, trips, and falls were the other two major causes of injuries.