Amazon has added two new China-to-U.S. air freight shipping options to its Amazon Global Logistics portfolio, the company announced to sellers last week. The new services, Air SMP and Economy Air, give cargo owners more choice in how they balance speed, cost, and inventory placement on one of the busiest e-commerce trade lanes in the world.

Amazon Global Logistics is the company's cross-border freight service for sellers moving goods into Amazon's fulfillment network. The two additions widen the service's air freight range. Air SMP focuses on speed and direct placement, while Economy Air focuses on lower rates. Together, they give shippers a clearer set of trade-offs for each shipment.

Air SMP lets sellers split their inventory at origin and ship it directly to fulfillment centers in five U.S. regions. Rather than consolidating cargo into a single U.S. entry point and redistributing it after arrival, sellers can divide shipments before departure and send each portion to its regional destination.

Daily flights from Shanghai and Hong Kong support the service, and Amazon estimates arrival in seven to 10 days after pickup. For shippers managing replenishment cycles and customer delivery commitments, a daily departure schedule paired with a defined transit window makes inbound planning more predictable.

Air SMP also removes two cost factors that often affect inbound budgets:

- No inbound placement fee for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) users. FBA sellers store their products in Amazon's warehouses, and Amazon picks, packs, and ships orders on their behalf. The inbound placement fee is tied to how Amazon distributes incoming inventory across its fulfillment network. Air SMP shipments do not carry this fee for FBA users.

- No additional surcharge on apparel, electronics or lithium battery products. These categories often carry extra handling requirements in air freight. Amazon does not add a surcharge for them under Air SMP.

For sellers in high-volume categories, the absence of these fees could simplify cost forecasting and reduce surprises on landed cost.

Economy Air serves shippers who want to move goods by air without paying standard air rates. Amazon prices the service below its standard Amazon Global Logistics air offering, which positions it between faster air services and slower ocean freight.

The service carries an estimated transit time of 11 to 15 days from Shanghai or Shenzhen to Los Angeles. The longer window trades some speed for savings. Sellers with less urgent replenishment needs, or with tighter freight budgets, can still keep inventory moving faster than ocean transit typically allows.