UPS CEO downplays Amazon threat and says online shopping 'is a lot more than just Amazon'
- UPS CEO David Abney on Tuesday downplayed the threat of Amazon's growing shipping network.
- He said UPS remains the "vendor of choice" for hundreds of thousands of online retailers and that "e-commerce is a lot more than just Amazon."
- Amazon captured about half of all e-commerce sales last year, according to eMarketer.
UPS CEO David Abney on Tuesday downplayed the threat of Amazon's growing shipping network, saying "e-commerce is a lot more than just Amazon."
Abney made the remark in response to a question about competition from Amazon in an interview on FOX Business Network's "Mornings with Maria." The interview took place at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"They're a good customer of ours," he said of Amazon. "We work closely together."
He went on to say that UPS remains the "vendor of choice" for hundreds of thousands of other online retailers.
"People can associate Amazon with e-commerce. And e-commerce is a lot more than just Amazon," Abney said.
"You have the other big retailers. But it's really those just hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized e-tailers that - that has allowed us to really be the e-commerce vendor of choice. And we will continue to do that through our product portfolio and through our technology."
Amazon captured roughly half of all e-commerce sales in 2018, according to estimates by eMarketer.
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The company has been rapidly ramping up its logistics network as its shipping costs have exploded, nearly doubling from 2015 to 2017, to $21.7 billion. This strategy has led to much speculation over Amazon's ambitions to directly challenge UPS and other shipping carriers.
Amazon still works with UPS, FedEx, and USPS to transport packages to customers, however. The company also uses thousands of contractors employed through its Flex delivery program and third-party courier companies it calls delivery service partners, or DSPs.
Amazon recently made a push to expand its network of DSPs and has added more than 100 new DSPs across the country within the last six months.
Amazon also for the first time directly hired and managed thousands of full-time drivers during the holiday season.
Amazon's growing shipping network has led to speculation that it's trying to compete directly with UPS, FedEx, and USPS.