Amazon invests 1.5 billion US dollars to build an air cargo center to build its own "land, sea and air" full-scale logistics

Amazon announced today that it will open an air cargo hub in northern Kentucky. This further demonstrates that online retail giants are indeed planning to build a large logistics network to challenge United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx (FedEx). Amazon said the company plans to equip the air cargo center with 2,000 employees.

After the official completion of this air cargo center in northern Kentucky, Amazon will deploy 40 Amazon Prime Air aircraft to transfer cargo between its warehouses. It is reported that 16 of them have been put in place and started to serve.

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, the cost of the project is estimated to be about $1.49 billion, and Amazon will receive $40 million in tax incentives from the local government. The report also pointed out that Amazon's land lease application has been approved, and it plans to rent a total of 900 acres of land.

Amazon revealed some time ago that the company has begun to lease aircraft to meet the growing needs of customers, because freight partners like UPS have been unable to meet these needs. Company CEO Jeff Bezos said at the time that Amazon did not intend to compete directly with UPS, but the media's view was just the opposite.

The road to Amazon's entry into the air cargo industry has not been smooth, and has encountered many setbacks. For example, during the 2016 holiday season, hundreds of pilots responsible for driving the Amazon aircraft went on strike due to insufficient aircraft staff.

In addition to aircraft, Amazon has also purchased thousands of truck trailers, and has also begun to enter the ocean freight industry to transport goods between China and the United States.