> Thanks to soaring demand in [the United States], cargo ships can charge more than seven times as much to bring a container from Asia to the U.S. as they can for the return trip. According to S&P Global Platts, that price difference has widened sharply since the pandemic.

> As a result, it's often more lucrative for shipping companies to race back to Asia with empty containers for a quick refill, rather than wait for those containers to be loaded with [U.S] exports.

> Agricultural exports are typically less valuable than what importers are bringing in.

So, if "cargo ships can charge more than seven times as much to bring a container from Asia to the U.S. as they can for the return trip", how long is waiting worth it? The answer should be one-seventh of the transit time, right? That is, if the detour to fill container with grain or rapeseed oil bottles adds more than 20% before it arrives back in China ready to be filled with factory goods, then it's a loss.

That'll be only a few days. Quite a harsh time constraint. I feel sorry for those farmers.

This could be an opportunity to build containers in the Midwest, ship ag in them, and negotiate free shipping paid for by releasing or renting the container.