Amazon is Coming to Cody
Amazon packages may soon come faster because Amazon is coming to Cody. The company continues to expand its warehouse footprint nationwide and has targeted Cody as an expansion site.
This spring, Amazon added a 40,000-square-foot delivery station to Billings, building its delivery network. Because of this, they are ready to test the waters in Cody and the surrounding area. Their goal is to speed up delivery time.
Amazon’s current footprint in Wyoming consists of 3 last-mile delivery stations – one in Gillette, one near Casper, and one in Rock Springs. They also have plans to add another delivery station in the next year or so. They also have a Whole Foods in Cheyenne.
In Cody, they have an official plan for an Amazon Storage Unit project with plans for additional similar projects across the state. Amazon representative, Tareq Wafaie, Manager of Economic Development Policy, shared that Amazon has invested over $30 million in Wyoming since 20210, including infrastructure and compensation to Employees. This investment has added more than $25 million to the state’s GDP and created more than 120 jobs across the new delivery stations in Gillette, Casper, and Rock Springs.
In addition, Mr. Wafaie shared that there are 2500 independent sellers on Amazon in Wyoming. These small business sellers average more than $115,000 each and sold more than 12 million items in 2023.
Amazon will settle in at Yellowstone Regional Airport.
At their April 9 meeting, the Yellowstone Regional Airport (YRA) Board approved a lease with Amazon to build a small warehouse – the Amazon Storage Unit project – to test the waters with faster deliveries in Cody and the surrounding areas. On April 15, the City Planning and Zoning Board approved the commercial site plan.
The “warehouse” will be a shipping container placed on an already existing parking area by the terminal. Amazon has already invested money in a warehouse in Billings and is looking to leverage it as far as possible. A box truck would arrive from Billings each morning with packages divided by route.
Amazon flex drivers then arrive on site in their personal vehicles to pick up a route for delivery directly to the customer. Deliveries from Cody will reach as far as a 60-minute drive time from the airport. Once transferred to the delivery vehicles, the box truck would return to Billings until the next day. Amazon anticipates that the new Amazon storage unit will substantially improve delivery service for the entire area.
Amazon shared that an estimated 50 cars would come through daily with Aaron Buck and other YRA board members who met with them in early April. The estimated number would include five trips with Amazon flex driver vehicles coming and going from the airport, six or seven times a day, to pick up packages left by the box truck.
The airport board weighed the risks of wear and tear on the road and concluded this would be minimal. They also acknowledged that the improved infrastructure would benefit the airport. They unanimously passed the motion to approve the one-year lease with a possible two-year expansion. While this will not currently be a significant increase to YRA’s funding, it will allow YRA to work with a company that can expand in the future.
Article by Janet Jones
Owner of Cody Journal and SnowMoon Photography
Janet has a rich history in Cody with her grandparents moving here in the late 1930s. Her grandfather started Wyoming Well Service. Janet is a writer, photographer, graphic designer and webmaster. Cody Journal and Cody Calendar blends her skills and talents with her love of the area.