FedEx ending ground deliveries for Amazon

FedEx Corp. is severing one of its few remaining ties with Amazon.

The parcel shipping giant will not renew its contract to deliver Amazon packages through its ground network. The agreement expires at the end of August. The move comes as the online behemoth, which ranks as one of the world’s biggest shippers, has been steadily building up its own shipping resources and delivery network.

“This change is consistent with our strategy to focus on the broader e-commerce market, which the recent announcements related to our FedEx Ground network have us positioned extraordinarily well to do,” FedEx said in a statement.

In June, FedEx announced it would not renew its domestic air-shipping Express contract with Amazon. The company still has an agreement with Amazon for international deliveries.

Among Amazon’s newest delivery ventures is Delivery Services, a program that allows entrepreneurs to create their own local delivery networks with up to 40 vans each. And in June, at its re:MARS conference (Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space) in Las Vegas, Amazon unveiled a drone with a hybrid design, meaning it can perform vertical takeoffs and landings like a helicopter. The retailer intends the new drones to fly up to 15 miles and deliver packages under five pounds to customers in less than 30 minutes.

Amazon is also expanding its air network. In 2021, it will open a hub in Kentucky for its Amazon Air fleet, which is expanding to 50 planes.