Amazon to launch shipping service in Los Angeles

Amazon's shipping service for businesses is finally set to launch in Los Angeles in the ''coming weeks,'' The Wall Street Journal reported. The service, dubbed Shipping with Amazon or SWA, will take on companies like Fedex and UPS, but the service will initially be restricted to companies selling goods on Amazon's own marketplace.

According to commentators, SWA is not a new project for the company and the e-commerce giant has long been building out its delivery infrastructure, expanding into ocean freight, leasing its own cargo planes, finding ways to deliver packages inside customers' houses with Amazon Key, and planning even futuristic initiatives like  drone delivery.

They point out that despite all that, Amazon has been reluctant to enter the business and take on established firms which spend billions each year just upgrading their existing networks.

According to the WSJ report, Amazon plans to ''expand the service to more cities as soon as this year,'' but does not report a time-frame for doing so. Amazon already delivers, its own orders in 37 US cities, but still relies on the likes of the US Postal Service to fill in the gaps in its coverage.