Won't there be an equilibrium at some point? Empty ships rush back to Asia but can't load in Asia because all the containers are back in the US. Hence they will sit idle in Asia not earning any money and ships that do carry empty containers back will be rewarded because someone will pay to ensure trade is not blocked in Asia
in a closed system, at some point the containers stuck in the US would become valuable enough in china that the ships would prioritize shipping them back, yes. but it's not a closed system, the chinese are building new shipping containers as fast as they can, and every new container they build lessens the demand for those containers stuck in the US.
