Amazon.com is launching a new fleet of bigger, boxier trucks like those favored by rival package carriers UPS and FedEx, as it fights to fix widespread pandemic-fueled delivery delays that sent customers into the arms of competitors like Walmart.
More than 2,200 heavy-duty Utilimaster “walk-in” delivery trucks have been ordered from Shyft Group, a Michigan-based speciality vehicle company. The new vehicles can carry more and bigger packages than the Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler, and Ford vans Amazon contractors dispatch around the country.
Amazon is under pressure to make good on one- and two-day deliveries promised to customers who subscribe to its $119 annual Prime service. Orders for food, computers, toys and exercise equipment surged after states issued stay-at-home orders to battle the pandemic, overwhelming Amazon’s network and adding days and even weeks to delivery times.
Read the article at Autoblog.
