How to Haul with Amazon
Amazon is a multibillion-dollar company best known for its fast deliverability of products. Within the trucking industry, Amazon created Amazon Relay, a straightforward and easy-to-use load board that assists drivers/carriers with increasing their company’s growth potential. All you need to do to haul with Amazon Relay is complete the application and within 2-4 business days you will receive an approval or rejection notice. Delays in the process are a result of carriers not meeting all the eligibility requirements (especially insurance validation). So how do you become eligible to haul with Amazon?
Minimum Requirements
Just like most freight brokers and load boards, Amazon Relay has certain requirements you must meet to be approved.
• Active DOT with interstate authority that has been active for at least 180 days & a Valid MC#
• A “Carrier” entity type that is Authorized for Property and for Hire
• A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Safety Rating of:
• “Satisfactory”
• “None”
• “Not Rated”
• Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) Scores:
• Unsafe Driving below 60%
• Hours of Service (HOS) Compliance below 60%
• Vehicle Maintenance below 75%
• Insurance Coverage:
• Auto Liability: not less than $1 million per occurrence, including a trailer replacement coverage of $50,000
• General Liability: not less than $1 million per occurrence and $2 million in the aggregate
• Cargo: at least $100,000
• Workers’ Compensation: in all jurisdictions where your company operates
• Employer Liability: not less than $100,00 per occurrence
Equipment Types
• Sleeper Cab
• 53’ Dry Van
• Reefer
Taking Safety Seriously
Amazon Relay prioritizes safety above all. This is why Safety Ratings and BASIC Scores are a part of the requirements to haul with Amazon.
Understanding Your Safety Rating
Many factors go into consideration when the FMCSA determines a safety rating. According to the FMCSA, “a motor carrier must demonstrate that it has adequate and effective safety management controls in place to ensure compliance”. Carriers display their safety through:
• Frequency and severity of regulatory violations
• Increase or decrease in similar types of violations
• Frequency of accidents
All Safety Ratings are visible to the public through the SMS or on the SAFER website. If you would like to request a review or change of your safety rating visit the FMCSA’s Safety Planner website.
Understanding Your CSA BASICs
The Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) organize data from roadside inspections, crash reports, violations, and more. Based on the number of safety events (i.e. crashes, inspections, or violations) the carrier is grouped, ranked, and assigned a percentile (the higher the number, the worse the performance). Once a month, the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program updates this data and organizes it into seven BASICs (Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazardous Materials Compliance, and Driver Fitness).
Insurance Coverages
Although Amazon Relay only requires certain insurance policies, such as Auto Liability, Cargo, and General Liability, carriers should also look into obtaining Physical Damage. While all the other policies cover people and loads, Physical Damage covers your truck in the event it gets damaged. When discussing policies and coverages with your agent, make sure you are fully covered.
A Simple Solution
Marquee Insurance Group (MIG), a commercial trucking insurance agency, understands what it takes to haul with Amazon and simplified safety monitoring to help make you eligible to haul with Amazon. The BOOST program utilizes proprietary MIG software to empower truckers to make safe decisions for the road ahead. BOOST’s personalized features keep carriers well-versed in safety matters pertaining to their business, leading them to make proactive decisions versus reactive ones. For more information on Marquee and the BOOST program, call (833) RING-MIG.
¹Box Truck: 26’ dock height box truck with tuck-under lift gate required. Interior cargo dimensions at least 26’x8’x8’ (LxWxH)
