Any foreign vessel can call on Puerto Rico. Nearly 70% of the ships serving Puerto Rico are foreign ships. 55 different foreign carriers provided imported cargo to Puerto Rico in a single month, as reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a 2013 report. Foreign shipping companies compete directly with the American shipping companies in an intensely competitive transportation market.

U.S. carriers offer their Puerto Rican customers direct service with transit times as few as three days. International carriers typically operate in a different fashion. They call on many ports resulting in longer transit times (sometimes weeks) to reach their final destinations. This operating model would negatively impact the timely flow of goods coming to the island as well as local exporters who are used to the fast and reliable service the U.S.-Puerto Rican maritime industry provides.

The cost of ocean shipping is a tiny fraction of the consumer price to Puerto Rico. A can of soup that retails in Puerto Rico for $1.58 costs just $.03 to ship. If consumer goods are sometimes more expensive in Puerto Rico, it is not because of the Jones Act. Consumers buy goods from retailers and grocers, not from shipping companies. Retailers buy the goods from shippers and determine the price of the goods to make a profit. This price mark up reflects labor and real estate costs as well as supply, demand and profit margin for retailers. These costs are not affected by the Jones Act.

With U.S. carriers dedicated to the trade, northbound capacity is readily available at lower rates rather than southbound. This provides Puerto Rico with a competitive advantage compared to neighboring islands that are served by global carriers.