Cross-border Ecommerce

This Year's Peak Season Is Unusual: Orders Are Falling, Yet Amazon FBA Warehouses Are Over Capacity. What's Going On?

Published 2026-10-14 · Updated 2026-10-14

People talk about golden September and silver October, but many no longer believe in itYet right at this momentAmazon FBA warehouses are over capacityMajor U.S. ocean freight ports are congested tooThis should have been the prelude to peak season
But an actual investigation foundThat news of FBA warehouses being over capacity has recently flooded cross-border e-commerce circlesAppointments at ONT8 and LAX9 are booked 25 days outGoods have arrived at warehouse entrances, but trucks have no appointment slots and can only wait thereMarket conditions during this year's peak season are very unusual...

Whenever FBA warehouses go over capacityBased on past experienceEveryone assumes it is peak stocking season for Amazon sellersIn fact, this year AmazonLaunchedAmazon Supply Chain ServicesIn English: ASCS
Put simplyAmazon has expanded the scope of its FBA logistics servicesPreviously, they were only for Amazon FBA sellersNow they are available toConsumer goods companies such as Procter & Gamble and 3MAmazon has turned FBA into these companies'Third-party logistics provider
This is actually a very smart decisionFBA has the fastest delivery speed in North AmericaTraditional consumer goods companies such as Procter & Gamble and 3M have enormous shipment volumesFBA is used to deliver these ordersAlthough it earns no commissions, it can earn high FBA fulfillment feesRecently, warehouses have prioritized the platform's"Major customers"For warehouse intake
Now look at major traditional brick-and-mortar retail customers:Walmart and CostcoAs shown:

Every year, traditional U.S. retailers such asWalmart and CotcoImport goods from China in large quantitiesRecent U.S. import data for month 9 showCargo volume from China surged by 21.2%
This also explains the recent congestion at the ten largest U.S. portsAnd why ships cannot unload upon arrival
I have written many times in previous articlesThat the scale of U.S. commerce is enormousOnline shopping is merely a supplement to brick-and-mortar retailOnline shopping on AmazonAccounts for a very small share of the overall U.S. retail market
When arrivals are concentrated during the year-end peak seasonPort congestion is not just a concern for Amazon sellersThese brick-and-mortar retailers are also rushing to get their goods shippedAs shown;

For exampleLos AngelesAnd other major ports like itAre already heavily congestedHalf of the vessels have port stays of 70 hoursThat is, 3 daysAnd this is not even the worst congestion
Delays at the Port of New York and New Jersey are 8.3 daysAmong the ten largest U.S. ports8 are seeing increasing delaysPort congestion has absorbed 12% of global container shipping capacity, the highest level in four years
This round of warehouse overcapacityComes from traditional brands stocking up in bulk, major brick-and-mortar retailers rushing shipments, and port congestionThese three factors combinedThe one factor missing is a recovery in peak-season demandDo not be alarmed by the goods outside warehouse entrancesClear inventory where needed, and scale back where needed
Streamline SKUs and retain listings for profitable productsThat will be the prevailing approach for Amazon sellers over the next 12 months

Source: Canglonghui Cross-Border E-Commerce · Read the original article