### q6 pinch points benefit the few at the costs of the many > Both carriers and terminal operators are bottlenecks in the system, and they profit not just by charging normal prices, but also by imposing a variety of [surcharges](http:// https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/impact-alliances-container-shipping.pdf ) on anyone who needs their service. This is similar to how airlines will offer a price for a ticket, but then also charge baggage fees, ticket change fees, or administrative fees on top of that. In 2009, for instance, roughly 50% of total freight charged came from surcharges. The ability to extract extra revenue, especially [when demand is high](https://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/port-los-angeles/pierpass-doubles-la-lb-port-daytime-truck-fee-push-night-moves_20211111.html), means that we’re not in an all-hands on deck situation, but a situation which is working quite well for some, and terribly for much of the industry and the public. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fmd7vs30f0s2wv0wzd6a56ah) - [[Too Big to Sail How a Legal Revolution Clogged Our Ports by Matt Stoller#q6 pinch points benefit the few at the costs of the many|View in Vault]] - This is the kind of thing that gets leveraged a lot in history, monopolies aren't really new, for example toll booths and the kinds of exploitation that controlling the only access to water might have. There's a lot of #storystem/fic opportunity here; consider Modesitt's work about damming water in the _Imager_ series. #articleseed about monopolies in fiction, too, and how fiction can teach us about monopolies. This one might be worth pitching to [[Tordotcom]] if I can get enough examples.