How does the new model actually work?
Capacity is now measured in cubic feet rather than units, which means bulky, low-turnover products consume proportionally more of a seller's limit than compact fast-movers — a shift from earlier systems where a unit cap treated all SKUs more equally. Limits depend on projected sales over a 5-month window (reduced from 6 months in a 2025 adjustment), combined with IPI score, product type, and warehouse availability. Amazon releases one confirmed capacity limit for the upcoming month plus two estimated limits for following months during the fourth week of each month, giving sellers a rolling but short planning horizon.
| Seller Type | Capacity Basis | Key Constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Individual (non-professional) | Fixed cap | 15 cubic feet |
| Professional | Variable | Sales history, IPI score, product type, warehouse availability |
| Per-ASIN | Supply cap | 90-day maximum supply, regardless of account-level capacity |
- The shift from 6-month to 5-month projected-sales windows (made in 2025) further tightens how much inventory qualifies for capacity allocation.
- ASIN-level 90-day caps mean a seller with healthy overall account capacity can still be blocked from sending in more of a specific high-velocity SKU.
- Capacity limits are published monthly with only one confirmed figure and two estimates, leaving limited lead time for sellers planning bulk inbound shipments.
What This Means for Cross-Border Sellers
Cross-border sellers shipping ocean freight in bulk face a planning mismatch: container lead times of 30-45+ days collide with a capacity system that only confirms one month out and estimates two more. A shipment planned today against an "estimated" limit two months out can arrive to find that estimate revised downward, especially for bulky or low-turnover categories now penalized more heavily under the cubic-feet model.
What Shippers Should Do
- Model inbound shipment volume against cubic feet, not unit counts, especially for bulky or oversized SKUs that consume disproportionate capacity under the new system.
- Treat Amazon's two-month-out estimated limits as provisional — build contingency warehousing or fulfillment alternatives in case the confirmed limit comes in lower.
- Prioritize IPI score management proactively, since it now directly gates professional-account capacity rather than being a secondary metric.
- For high-velocity ASINs, monitor the 90-day supply cap separately from account-level capacity, since hitting the per-ASIN ceiling can block inbound shipments even with room elsewhere in your account.