Why are the shipping costs so high for products imported into the United States?

October 4, 2021
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Many consumer products in our daily lives are manufactured in Asia. They are shipped to the United States in containers stacked on ocean-going ships. When the COVID-19 pandemic hits the backlog of consumer goods developed in Asian ports. Bruce Burkartzmeyer, the co-owner of Burkartzmeyer Shoes, said that one of their suppliers said that in the past, the cost of shipping a container to the United States was about US$5,000, but now, the cost of shipping the same container to the same port may be as high as US$25,000! In addition, it is difficult to transport products from the United States to other countries in containers.
That doesn't make any sense! All empty containers in US ports. Why can't it be filled with American products and shipped back to Asia? Keith Schroder is a corn and soybean farmer from Nerstrand and was the former chairman of the Minnesota Soy Research and Promotion Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Special Grain Alliance (SSGA). SSGA's mission is to develop overseas markets and transportation of specialty soybean products.
Specialty soybean products are shipped overseas in containers. Keith explained that shipping companies would rather ship empty containers from US ports back to China than load US soybeans or other products. If they are loaded, it will take more time to transport them to their destination, unload and then ship to China. Obviously, shipping companies can make more money by transporting Chinese products, so they want the containers to be shipped back to China as soon as possible?
Keith did say that the backlog of products waiting to be shipped will eventually resolve itself, but it will take time. Before that, be prepared to wait for the products and pay more for them. Click the link and listen to Keith Schrader talk about international shipping issues.