So, am I understanding correctly that using US ships to go from, say, Alaska to Washington State and then on to wherever is necessary in the US is more expensiv

So, am I understanding correctly that using US ships to go from, say, Alaska to Washington State and then on to wherever is necessary in the US is more expensive than hiring a foreign company to sail the cargo down to Panama, across the canal, back up to Canada, across 300 feet of railway, and then into the US? If so, I would not have guessed that were the case.