All very good points, but would the going rate of 25k-35k charter fee per day to sit at anchor for an indeterminate amount of time make it worth it to divert?
One would have to crunch the numbers. Others mentioned the fees to traverse the canal. Then you have to turn around and sail back - more time and fuel. I am not really sure there is a savings on the travel/wait time (there are no fuel costs to just sit at anchor) and I suppose many of the shippers are just hoping and praying they are making the right decision. But surely the door to door cost for a container - from Asia to the warehouse that ordered it - will be higher (taking out the cost of wait times). Whether there is savings enough in not waiting to offset, it’s a lot to crunch. But getting that container from Florida to Colorado - more delay, more cost.
Like I said, Oakland is only a few 100 miles away from LA/Long Beach but they are not diverting traffic there for some reason. Hard to imagine then that Florida is more attractive than Oakland.