Amazon reported that its worldwide shipping costs rose about 11% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, driven mainly by higher fuel prices and linehaul rates, and management expects the pressure to intensify in the fourth quarter.
What Happened
According to the earnings release and the analyst call, Amazon's worldwide shipping costs increased from roughly $25.38 billion a year earlier to about $28.3 billion, up around 11.5%, while fulfillment expenses grew about 8.4%. The chief financial officer said the fulfillment network absorbed higher transportation costs from fuel inflation and rising linehaul rates.
Amazon said its cost to serve per unit still declined, helped by better inventory placement, shorter shipping distances and package consolidation. CEO Andy Jassy said the company is on track to lower cost to serve per unit for a fourth consecutive year. Excluding fuel and linehaul inflation, shipping costs rose about 8%, slower than the roughly 12% growth in units shipped.
Third-quarter revenue was about $201.9 billion, up about 12% year over year, with operating income of about $28.1 billion and an operating margin of 13.9%. Amazon said it delivered more than 1.5 billion items same-day or overnight in the quarter ending Sept. 30, its fastest third-quarter delivery speed for Prime members.
Background
Amazon has continued to invest in same-day facilities, ultra-fast delivery and warehouse automation, now running more than 1 million robots across its fulfillment network and doubling its fleet of robotic arms during 2026. Those investments are seen as the main hedge against rising labor and transportation costs.
Amazon introduced a fuel surcharge earlier this year for sellers using its fulfillment services to recover part of its fuel expenses, but Jassy acknowledged the surcharge does not fully offset the increases, leaving the company exposed to higher costs on both inbound retail shipments and outbound deliveries.
Impact on Shippers
On cost, higher platform transportation expenses and the fuel surcharge mechanism mean Chinese sellers using Amazon's fulfillment services are unlikely to see a meaningful near-term decline in combined first-mile and last-mile logistics spending, and surcharge terms should be checked line by line. On transit time, continued compression of delivery windows raises the bar for inbound timing and inventory turns, making slow-replenishing sellers more vulnerable to stockouts or storage limits. On customs, this report does not involve tariff or clearance policy changes, and sellers should continue to follow existing documentation requirements.
Recommendations
Shippers should lock in first-mile capacity on ocean parcel and ocean truck lanes ahead of expected fourth-quarter capacity tightness and fuel cost pressure, and build in modest inventory buffers. Sellers should also review how platform fuel surcharges and storage fees are calculated and assess overseas warehousing and inventory pre-positioning to avoid inbound delays affecting listing and sales during peak season.