The Core Distinction
On Amazon Relay, freight moves in two structures: trips and blocks. A trip is a single load, point-to-point, booked and completed as a standalone run. A block is a recurring schedule of work — the same driver and truck running a defined route on a set schedule, repeated over time. Understanding which is which, and when each applies to your operation, affects how you staff, how you plan, and what you earn.
Trips
A trip is the simpler of the two. You see a load on the load board with an origin, destination, pickup window, delivery window, and rate. You claim it, assign a driver, the driver picks it up and delivers it. Done. Payment posts to your next settlement. There's no ongoing commitment beyond that single load.
Trips are good for:
- Filling in gaps when block schedules have open days
- New carriers building volume while getting comfortable with Relay's operations
- Opportunistic capacity — if a truck is nearby and a good load is available, grab it
- Testing a new lane before committing to it as a block
The downside of running primarily trips is variability. You're booking load-by-load, which means dispatcher time per load is higher, revenue is less predictable week-to-week, and you have no guarantee of what's available in your lanes on any given day.
Blocks
A block is a committed schedule. When you win a block, you're agreeing to provide a driver and truck for a specific recurring lane on specific days. Blocks run for a defined period — typically several weeks to a few months — and are awarded through a bidding or allocation process rather than first-come first-served claiming.
Key characteristics of blocks:
- Recurring schedule — same lane, same days, repeating. Your dispatcher doesn't have to re-book the same run every week.
- Higher commitment — cancelling a block assignment or having frequent service failures on block work damages your carrier score more than trips
- Premium rates — blocks typically pay better than equivalent trip loads on the same lane because Amazon values the reliability
- Driver assignment planning — block work lets you assign a driver to a consistent schedule, which most drivers prefer over unpredictable trip work
Multi-Leg Blocks
Some blocks involve multiple legs — your driver picks up at Facility A, delivers to Facility B, then picks up at Facility B and delivers to Facility C, all as part of the same block. The block rate covers the entire sequence. Drivers need to understand this so they're not surprised when the app shows a second leg after completing the first drop.
Multi-leg blocks have higher driver hour requirements. Before assigning a driver to a multi-leg block, calculate total on-duty time including loading/unloading buffers and drive time. A block that looks like 10 hours of drive time might be 14+ hours of total on-duty time. Running drivers into HOS issues on block work creates both a safety problem and a performance score problem when delivery windows are missed.
How Block Bidding Works
Blocks aren't claimed from the load board like trips. Amazon posts available blocks in a separate section of the carrier portal, typically on a weekly or bi-weekly cycle. You submit a bid or express interest, and Amazon allocates blocks across carriers based on a combination of bid rate, carrier performance score, and coverage history in the lane.
Your performance score matters significantly for block allocation. Carriers with strong on-time records and low cancellation rates get priority access to block opportunities. This is one of the most direct ways your operational performance translates to revenue — a poor score doesn't just reflect past problems, it actively limits future earnings by reducing your block access.
Managing a Mixed Portfolio
Most productive Relay carriers run a mix: a core of block work that fills the majority of their driver schedules, supplemented by trips to fill open capacity. The ratio depends on your fleet size and your lanes. Smaller carriers (2–5 trucks) may find it easier to run primarily trips with selective block work. Larger fleets benefit more from block structure because it enables systematic driver scheduling across a bigger team.
When building your mix, think about it from the driver perspective. Drivers on block schedules know their week in advance. Drivers on trip-only work are waiting to find out what they're running. In a competitive driver labor market, offering consistent block schedules is a real recruitment and retention advantage. Block work that benefits your operational predictability also benefits your driver satisfaction — those two things reinforce each other.