I have a container on its way from Florida ATM, apparently it was "randomly" selected by customs in the US for inspection. So that cost me $800 for them to have a look plus $350 for the forwarding agent to move it from their yard to customs and back. The word is that customs probably didn't select my container, the agent is just milking a bit more from the deal. You can't say anything though because your container may have an accident if you make trouble.
If a person where running a business importing goods, I guess a person would just have to build the risk into the importation costs.