What’s Happening: At 2.4 million package deliveries every day, the U.S.’s largest delivery system is plotting a New York City takeover with at least nine new warehouses. This pandemic-induced e-commerce frenzy has made New York a high-stakes testing ground for urban deliveries, with density being both a draw and logistical nightmare. In a city where shuttered stores are the new norm, there’s a critical need for scaled-up e-commerce infrastructure.
The Download: Amazon needs more warehouse space to satisfy customer expectations for speedy delivery. Across the five boroughs, the e-commerce behemoth has acquired nine new warehouses, including a million-square-foot goliath in Queens that joins 12 warehouses citywide and two dozen new ones in the suburbs.
Why It Matters: New York City has 128 million square feet of industrial space, which often pales in comparison to smaller cities. (Indianapolis, whose population is just one-tenth of New York’s, has double the space.) An influx of packages arrive in New York from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where there’s ample space to build bigger, cheaper warehouses. In the past year, Amazon has opened more than 14 new warehouses in New Jersey and on Long Island. Still, having warehouses in the city can trim expenses by 20 percent compared to deliveries from New Jersey.
In Their Words: “We are excited to continue to invest in New York by adding new delivery stations,” said Amazon spokeswoman Deborah Bass, who noted its goal of “becoming part of the fabric of New York City by embracing the people, the needs, and the spirit of the community.”
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