Amazon US Logistics Adjustment

On November 30th, according to foreign media reports, in the United States, Amazon sublet approximately 1.5 million square feet of warehouses in October, the highest level in over a year. In recent months, Amazon has been subletting warehouses and distribution centers to reduce excess space in its distribution network.

According to reports, most of the warehouses that Amazon recently sublet were built during the pandemic, including warehouses in the Atlanta area, San Antonio, and Fort Worth, Texas. Differently, Amazon's recent sublease of warehouses also includes some large warehouses that will be built in 2030 and beyond.

During the pandemic, e-commerce sales experienced a boom period, and Amazon doubled its logistics and distribution network. To offset its excessive expansion costs, Amazon has closed and delayed the construction of multiple US warehouses. According to Bloomberg, Amazon also planned to sublet at least 10 million square feet of land last year to address the issue of excess warehouse capacity.

Despite Amazon's strong push for subletting, its delivery network remains vast. According to consulting firm MWPVL International, which tracks Amazon's logistics footprint, Amazon had over 428 million square feet of distribution infrastructure in the United States in the third quarter.

However, according to CoStar's data, Amazon's overall warehouse area in the United States did not show significant changes in 2023, as Amazon is still leasing new distribution centers, which are mainly concentrated in areas with weaker Amazon logistics infrastructure, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Pennsylvania Interstate 81, which are warehousing hotspots serving the Northeast market.