Why America Throws Away Shipping Containers from China Part 1

What is the reason that even though America is the world’s largest oil producer, it still cannot fully use its own oil?

It’s almost like a person grows wheat on his own land, yet still has to beg others for food.

The world we live in is strange — what appears on the surface is often the complete opposite of reality.

In the same way, every year millions of containers travel from China to America… but why are they thrown away there like junk?

And in the middle of all this, how and why does Iran smuggle Boeing 777 aircraft?

Welcome once again to my story.

The Hidden World of Container Ships

Do you know that at any given moment, around 300,000 ships are present in the oceans?

These include oil tankers, LPG and LNG carriers, tugboats, passenger ships, and also those ships that keep the global economy running:

Container ships.

About 90% of global trade depends on sea routes.

According to estimates, every passing minute, around 6,000 to 8,000 container ships are traveling across the oceans.

With the help of the Automatic Identification System, these ships can now be tracked in real time.

If you visit websites like MarineTraffic or VesselFinder, you will see the entire ocean filled with tiny lights.

Each light represents a massive ship carrying goods worth millions of dollars.

Most of these ships are traveling from China to Europe and America.

The shocking part is that each vessel carries an average of 5,000 containers.

That means nearly 40 million containers are constantly moving across the seas.

Everything we use — from clothes to mobile phones — once traveled in these containers.

At first glance, it looks normal: goods arrive, and empty containers return.

But the reality is far more disturbing.

Why Containers End Up as Waste in America

The world’s trade balance is completely broken.

China sells so much to the world that it produces a flood of full containers.

In 2023 alone, China’s trade surplus exceeded $823 billion.

China exported goods worth $3,380 billion and imported $2,557 billion, leaving a surplus of $823 billion.

The problem begins when these containers reach America or Europe.

While China has an $823 billion surplus, all of Europe combined has only about $41 billion.

But when containers reach the US, the imbalance becomes extreme.

America is the world’s biggest consumer.

It imports far more than it exports.

That means many containers arrive, but America does not have enough goods to send back.

Only about 40% of containers return full.

So where do the other 60% go?

You might think they return empty.

But no.

They are rotting away in junkyards across America.

That’s because sending an empty container back to China costs around $3,000.

Plus, an empty container occupies space that could instead carry valuable goods.

China doesn’t even need these used containers because it can manufacture a new one for just $2,000.

Every year, about 2.5 million new containers are produced.

So what happens to the abandoned containers in the US and Europe?

Many are sold cheaply for storage or construction.

Today, homes and offices are even built from them.

And when nothing else is possible, they are melted down for steel — because one container contains nearly two tons of steel.

So the next time you see containers stacked near a port, remember:

This is not just junk…

It is a story of a broken global economy.

Why America Produces Oil but Still Imports It

Now comes the question that confuses even the smartest minds:

America is the world’s largest oil producer…

So why does it still import oil?

On the map, America ranks number one in oil production, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Yet surprisingly, it is also the world’s second-largest oil importer.

Meaning:

America sells its own oil and buys oil from others.

There are three major reasons behind this.