Approximately 300 U.S. agriculture and forest products associations and commercial firms have lobbied the Secretaries of the Department of Transportation and Agriculture to resolve the shortage of containers for trans-Pacific shipment of agricultural commodities.  Vessel-Operating Common Carriers (VOCCs) are declining to ship agricultural commodities from the U.S. and are turning around their vessels as soon as possible after offloading containers for their return voyages.  In past years, containers are shipped inland from major West Coast ports to be loaded and then returned filled with exported commodities.  Since the demand for manufactured goods from China and other Asian nations has increased during the COVID shutdown, the VOCCs have elected to maximize revenue to the disadvantage of the agricultural industry.

In a letter addressed to Secretaries Pete Buttigieg and Tom Vilsack the groups noted “The lucrative freight rates by the import cargo, combined with congestion and delay at ports on our west and east coast are leading VOCCs to immediately return empty containers to their overseas ports of origin.”

The letter requested the Federal Maritime Commision to intervene and exercise authority to resolve the issue to facilitate shipping of agricultural products including fruit and eggs.