Often ships sit loaded for months on end (sometimes due to customs or duties &#x2F; ownership issues). There&#x27;s also a proximity issue. If a loaded ship is sitting close to the states but in international waters, it&#x27;s easier to get the load back into the states. If you leave the cargo in a storage facility somewhere you still have to pay for the storage, and in addition the transit + time when you actually want to use&#x2F;sell&#x2F;offload it.