Amazon announced on Wednesday that it plans to invest over $4 billion to grow its delivery network in rural areas of the United States by the end of 2026.
This move is part of Amazon's effort to make deliveries faster for customers living in small towns and countryside areas, Udit Madan, Senior Vice President, Amazon Worldwide Operations, said in a statement.
Amazon to Triple Rural Network, Cut Delivery Times in Half
Amazon said that once the expansion is finished, it will add over 200 new delivery stations. This will make its rural delivery network three times bigger than it is now.
The company explained that this will help bring products closer to customers in small towns and rural areas and will reduce average delivery times by half. The e-commerce giant hopes that quicker shipping will lead to more orders from people in these locations.
Madan, said, "At a time where many logistics providers are backing away from serving rural customers because of cost to serve, we are stepping up our investment to make their lives easier and better."
Amazon to Create Jobs Amid Earnings Report and White House Criticism
The company said that when the new delivery sites open, it plans to create around 170 jobs at each location. This news comes just before Amazon is expected to share its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.
"Once this expansion is complete, our network will be able to deliver over a billion more packages each year to customers living in over 13,000 zip codes spanning 1,200,000 square miles—an area the size of Alaska, California, and Texas combined," Madan added.
The news of Amazon's rural expansion follows criticism from the White House after reports claimed Amazon was planning to show how much of a product's price comes from tariffs. Amazon responded by saying it wouldn't go ahead with that plan and had only thought about doing it for items sold on its discount section, called Haul, CNBC reported.
Since President Trump took office in January, several major tech companies like Apple, IBM, and Nvidia have promised to increase their investments in the U.S. to support local manufacturing and create more jobs.
Amazon Speeds Up Delivery with Bigger Network and In-House Logistics
For the past few years, Amazon has been working hard to deliver packages faster. After setting two-day delivery as the standard, the company moved toward getting orders to customers in just one day or even within a few hours in some cases.
To make this possible, Amazon built a large network of warehouses across the U.S. and took more control of its delivery process instead of relying on other companies. In 2022, Amazon said it was on track to become the biggest package delivery service in the country, ahead of UPS and FedEx.
Originally published on IBTimes
