Amazon is now its own biggest carrier, on pace to deliver 3.5 bn parcels

That buildout has been marred by controversy, including reports of deaths and injuries as contract drivers speed through neighborhoods around the country.

As Amazon.com Inc works to speed orders to customer doorsteps before Christmas, the e-commerce giant is touting an accomplishment that would have seemed absurd just a few years ago: Amazon is now its own biggest carrier.

In the US, delivery contractors and on-demand workers now account for a majority of deliveries to customers, an Amazon spokeswoman said. Globally, “approximately half” of Amazon deliveries are completed by Amazon Logistics, the network the company built in recent years to handle a surge in deliveries that United Parcel Service Inc., FedEx Corp. and the US Postal Service were unprepared to handle.

In a press release