Amazon Announces 2026 Peak-Season Capacity Plan
Amazon expects to handle more than 4 million truckloads during the holiday season, with weekly freight volume potentially reaching 300,000 truckloads in December, about 11% higher than the previous year.
What are the key facts?
- 1More than 4 million truckloads of freight expected during the holiday season
- 2Weekly December freight volume could reach 300,000 truckloads
- 3Peak-season freight volume is approximately 11% higher than the previous year
- 4No new FBA fees or mandatory new seller rules announced
What happened?
Amazon published a recap of an Amazon Relay logistics business event on September 18, 2026, and disclosed its capacity plan for the 2026 holiday season. The company expects to transport more than 4 million truckloads of freight during the holiday season, while weekly freight volume in December could reach 300,000 truckloads, approximately 11% higher than the previous year. The plan is not a platform fee adjustment for ordinary third-party sellers, but it could indirectly affect sellers using Amazon inbound logistics, third-party trucking, cross-border line-haul transportation, and domestic U.S. replenishment networks. As peak-season transportation demand rises, truck capacity, transfers between fulfillment centers, and inbound appointment availability may become tighter. Sellers relying on ocean freight from China to the United States followed by distribution through Amazon’s fulfillment network should reserve additional inbound buffer time and reassess inventory pre-positioning, replenishment frequency, and backup carrier arrangements from October through December. The original page also states that no new FBA fees were announced and no mandatory new seller rules were introduced; therefore, this information should not be interpreted as a formal fee policy.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
With more than 4 million truckloads expected during the holiday season and weekly December freight volume potentially reaching 300,000 truckloads—about 11% higher than the previous year—sellers using Amazon inbound logistics, cross-border line-haul, and domestic U.S. replenishment networks may face tighter transportation, transfer, and inbound appointment capacity. Prioritize October–December inventory pre-positioning, replenishment frequency, inbound buffers, and backup carrier arrangements. This is not a new FBA fee or mandatory seller rule.
What should sellers do now?
- 1For stores using Amazon’s fulfillment network, review in-transit, sellable, and safety inventory month by month from October through December, plan pre-positioning based on more than 4 million holiday-season truckloads and a potential peak of 300,000 weekly truckloads in December, and produce a replenishment table.Restock planner
- 2For listings dependent on ocean freight from China to the United States and inbound delivery through Amazon’s fulfillment network, create a list of primary and backup carriers, record inbound appointments, fulfillment-center transfers, and line-haul milestones for each listing, and complete a switchable contingency plan.Procurement List
- 3For key SKUs in domestic U.S. replenishment networks, review replenishment frequency and inventory turnover from October through December, identify listings at risk of slow sales or stockouts, and produce results categorized by store, category, and fulfillment center.Inventory turnover