“The resulting inability of shippers to deliver their products on schedule affects the reliability of American exports, and subsequently decreases export values and market share. The cost to ship a container has increased between 300% and 500% in the past two years; US producers are losing 10-40% of their export value to these added costs; and an informal survey suggests that US agriculture exporters’ inability to perform is leading to a loss of 22% of their sales.”

They urged the president to take measures like: supporting new legislation including the controversial Ocean Shipping Reform Act; ordering the DoJ to review the existing act to see if any “enforcement tools” can be used; support efficiency initiatives at ports; and provide federal support for the deployment of port and national data-sharing portals.

You can read the whole letter and its full set of recommendations here.