Two of the biggest LTL carrier changes in years landed within ten days of each other this June. LanePilot is a shipper-side rate comparison and invoice audit tool, not a freight broker TMS. Here is what actually changed with Amazon Freight and FedEx Freight, and why shippers should re-run their carrier comparison now instead of assuming last year's cheapest option is still cheapest.
What are Amazon Freight's LTL rates in 2026?
Amazon does not publish public LTL rate tables. It opened its LTL network to all US businesses on June 10, 2026, and says it prices below legacy carriers, but rates are quote-based per shipment. The only way to know if it is cheaper on your lanes is to request a quote.
Amazon Freight LTL: what actually launched on June 10
Amazon Freight's LTL service had existed since April 2025, but only as an inbound option for Amazon vendors and FBA sellers moving freight into Amazon's own facilities. On June 10, 2026, Amazon Supply Chain Services opened that network to any US business shipping to any destination, including third-party warehouses, distribution centers, and retail stores, not just Amazon's own network.
The service targets typical LTL shipment sizes: one to six pallets, or roughly 150 to 15,000 pounds. Amazon backs it with more than 80,000 trailers and 24,000 intermodal containers, a fleet built for its own retail operation and now partly repurposed for outside freight. That is a large trailer count, but it is not the same thing as LTL terminal density. Industry analysts covering the launch noted Amazon had a comparatively small number of cross-dock facilities as of early 2025, the kind of hub-and-spoke infrastructure that established national LTL networks have built over decades. The practical read: Amazon Freight is a real new option, particularly for shippers whose lanes run near an Amazon facility, but it is not yet a like-for-like replacement for a national LTL network on every lane.
On positioning, Amazon has been explicit that it intends to price below legacy carriers, and outside analysts covering the launch have suggested it will compete hardest in the lower-cost, less time-sensitive segment of the market rather than premium or guaranteed service. None of that tells you what Amazon will actually quote on your lane. The only way to find out is to request a quote and put it next to what you are paying today.
What happened with the FedEx Freight spin-off?
FedEx completed the spin-off of FedEx Freight into an independent, publicly traded company on June 1, 2026. FedEx Freight now trades on the NYSE under the ticker FDXF, separate from FedEx Corporation (FDX). The new company reported roughly $8.8 billion in full fiscal-year 2026 revenue as North America's largest independent LTL carrier by that measure (a 1.1 percent decrease year over year, so this figure should not be confused with the separate quarterly revenue increase discussed below).
The more useful number for shippers showed up in FedEx Freight's first earnings report as a standalone company. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended May 31, 2026), average daily shipments fell 5.9 percent year over year, even as revenue rose on higher fuel surcharges and heavier average shipments. In plain terms: FedEx Freight is moving fewer shipments per day than it was a year ago, and its recent quarterly revenue growth has come from price and weight per shipment, not from carrying more freight.
That combination, a newly independent public company reporting a shipment decline in its first quarter out of the gate, is the kind of signal that shows up in a carrier's public filings before it shows up in your renewal quote. A carrier with softening volume has more incentive to hold or win business on price than one running at capacity.
Why this matters for your carrier comparison
Neither of these facts alone should make you switch carriers. Together, they are a reason to check your assumptions:
- A new capacity option exists where none did in April. Amazon Freight LTL is worth a quote request on lanes near its terminals, even if you do not end up booking with it.
- A major national carrier just reported a shipment decline in its first quarter as a standalone public company, which is a reasonable opening for a rate conversation, not a reason to assume it is now automatically the cheapest.
- Your current "best rate" was set under different conditions. If you last compared carriers before June 2026, the comparison set itself has changed, independent of anything about your freight.
The mistake to avoid is treating either headline as a rate figure. Amazon has not published rates, and a 5.9 percent shipment decline at one carrier does not translate into a specific discount at another. What both changes do support is re-running the comparison itself, on your actual lanes, with your actual shipment profile, rather than reasoning from industry headlines.
How to actually re-run your LTL carrier comparison
- Pull your last 90 days of LTL invoices and identify your top lanes by spend and by shipment count.
- Request current quotes on those specific lanes from your existing carriers plus at least one new option, including Amazon Freight where your lanes are a fit.
- Compare quotes against your actual contracted rates, not list rates or last year's numbers.
- Weigh transit time and lane-specific service history alongside price. A cheaper quote that misses your delivery windows is not actually cheaper.
- Repeat this quarterly, not annually. 2026 has already shown that the carrier landscape can shift inside a single month.
Compare the current market, then keep what you find
LanePilot pulls quotes from its 135-carrier network using your contracted rates, in under 60 seconds, so re-running a comparison after a market shift like this one takes minutes instead of a week of phone calls and portal logins. After booking, its invoice audit checks every delivered shipment against the original quote, so a rate advantage you find today does not quietly erode in billing errors later. For the mechanics of building that comparison habit without a TMS, see How to Compare LTL Carriers Without a TMS. See how LanePilot works to try a real lane.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amazon Freight cheaper than other LTL carriers?
Amazon has said it prices below legacy LTL carriers, but it does not publish rate tables, and outside analysts expect it to compete mainly in the lower-cost segment of the market rather than on premium or guaranteed service. Whether it is cheaper on your lane depends on your specific shipment profile and can only be confirmed with a quote.
Does the FedEx Freight spin-off affect my current contract rates?
Not automatically. A spin-off changes FedEx Freight's corporate structure and reporting, not your contract terms. What it does create is a data point, a reported shipment decline in the company's first quarter as an independent public company, that is worth raising in your next rate conversation.
Should I switch carriers because of these changes?
Not based on the headlines alone. Neither change gives you a specific rate number. What they support is re-running your comparison across current options on your actual lanes, so any decision is based on quotes for your freight rather than industry-wide trends.
How often should shippers compare LTL carrier rates?
Quarterly is a reasonable minimum in a market moving this fast. A comparison run six or twelve months ago reflected a market that no longer exists now that a major carrier has changed ownership structure and a large new competitor has entered.