industry prior to 2021 has made about a 3% return on capital over time. and if as demand increased, the shipping lines chartered basically every available container ship that they could, and heavy ordered a record number of ships to accommodate demand in the future. it s really just working of supply and demand. we ve got 50% more demand rain a very rigid supply chain, again, not unlike the airfares. i paid $500 to go to the west coast two years ago, i paid $2,000 a couple weeks ago because there s simply more demand to fly. so i don t think the ocean shipping lines are greedy, i think they re trying toing to accommodate demand as best they can, but they have ability to charge higher rates because the demand is there. neil: all right. jim, let me ask you a little bit about this, one hinge that this whole supply chain issue has taught us is how much we fend on certain countries. china comes to mind not only on,
congressmen there s a reform act that isn t that black black and white or easy. the president of the south carolina port authority, jim, great of you back with us. i guess this legislation looks to go after exorbitant shipping costs runups. now, a lot of that has to do with the fact so much, if not the overwhelming majority, is handled on west coast. you make a very good, convincing argument to sort of share the wealth on the east coast, but where does this all stand? good morning, neil, it s nice to be with you. certainly, ocean freight rates are very, very high. demand relative to supply that really causes that, not dissimilar to airfares today. the newest in shipping regulation really is intended to deal with what is thought to be excessive storage charges and additionally to make sure that exporters get a fair shake in terms of empty container
Shelby County will continue to have the authority to issue mask mandates despite a new law that restricts public schools and other government entities from requiring masks.