In a new survey, container shipping lines face criticism for inflicting additional costs onto to the US agricultural and forestry sector due to the shipping lines being too poor at providing specific times for when containers must be dropped off at a port terminal.

Three in four responding members at US umbrella organization Agriculture Transportation Coalition complain in a new survey that bookings at container liners do not include a so-called "Earliest Return Date". That is to say information that indicates how early exporters can drop off containers to the port terminals to ensure that they are loaded onto container vessels.