Amazon Global Logistics has launched two new air freight products, Air SMP and Economy Air, for China-US cargo, extending the e-commerce group's role from marketplace operator to direct seller of cross-border freight capacity.

The move puts Amazon's logistics arm into more direct competition with freight forwarders and integrators on one of the world's densest trade lanes. Both services sit under the Amazon Global Logistics banner, the division that already handles ocean freight for sellers shipping Chinese-manufactured goods into US fulfilment networks.

What do the new products signal?

Air SMP and Economy Air point to segmentation of the China-US airfreight market by speed and price. A standard-priority product paired with an economy tier mirrors how integrators and forwarders structure their own portfolios: one service for time-critical replenishment, another for lower-value, less urgent volume.

For sellers, the appeal is consolidation. Amazon can bundle freight, customs clearance and last-mile fulfilment into a single transaction tied to its marketplace, rather than requiring sellers to contract separately with forwarders, brokers and domestic carriers.

Why does Amazon keep building logistics?

Amazon has spent years converting its internal transportation needs into externally sellable services. Ocean freight, ground parcel delivery, air charter capacity and now tiered airfreight products all follow the same logic: assets and network capacity built for Amazon's own volume are resold to third parties, improving utilisation and spreading fixed costs.

China-US is the natural lane for this expansion. E-commerce demand from Chinese platforms and sellers has driven outsized growth in transpacific air cargo, particularly out of manufacturing hubs in southern China, with e-commerce volume consistently cited as a key demand driver on the route.

The launch also positions Amazon to capture freight demand generated by its own marketplace ecosystem — sellers who previously booked with third-party forwarders can now buy directly from the platform where they sell.

What are the competitive consequences?

The immediate pressure falls on freight forwarders and consolidators that depend on small and mid-sized Chinese exporters for backhaul and headhaul volume. Amazon's advantages — integrated payment, customs data flows from marketplace transactions, and existing US distribution infrastructure — are difficult for mid-market forwarders to replicate.

Integrators and larger forwarders retain their own advantages: neutral network access, capacity across multiple trade lanes, and relationships with shippers who sell outside Amazon's marketplace.

For airlines and freighter operators, the question is how Amazon will source the lift behind the new products. The company has historically combined leased capacity, charter arrangements and its own operated network, and any shift toward more Amazon-controlled flying on the transpacific would affect carriers that now carry that volume under contract.

What remains unverified?

Amazon has not disclosed pricing, transit-time commitments, or the specific aircraft and capacity arrangements behind Air SMP and Economy Air. How the products perform against existing forwarder offerings on the lane will depend on those operational details rather than on the launch itself.

Whether the services expand beyond China-US, or extend to other Amazon Global Logistics trade lanes, will indicate whether this is a targeted lane play or a broader freight forwarding ambition.