Amazon's drones are still a few years away, so the company is looking at other shipping options, such as building its own delivery network, it's claimed.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is currently testing a delivery network in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. There are even Amazon job listings that described the US delivery network as The Last Mile. Amazon appears to be in full swing on the project, especially after last Christmas. The Wall Street Journal noted Amazon was stung by UPS and FedEx's severe shipping delays and is looking ahead to avoid another costly debacle.

On that note, both UPS and FedEx handle the majority of Amazon deliveries and have regularly raised their prices. Amazon's shipping expenses grew 29 per cent last year, for instance. Thus, instead of handing more cash to companies that can't withstand the increased load of online holiday shopping, Amazon is planning to build a self-run network complete with its own delivery trucks.

Amazon would not only save on shipping expenses but could also offer customers same-day deliveries, nighttime deliveries, deliveries at specific times, etc. Keep in mind however that Amazon is also thinking internationally. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, told shareholders earlier this month that Amazon has already created "fast, last-mile delivery networks" in the UK, where commercial carriers couldn't support Amazon's peak volumes.

We've contacted Amazon for a comment and will update when more information is available.