P/E/28. The Nature of Demand for Shipping.

Abstract The shipping industry is engaged in the production of water borne transport of goods and people. This industry can be defined as a group of individual industries or sectors operating within different markets and reacting to different economic conditions. The primary economic function of shipping services is, like all transport, to bridge the gap which exists between producer and consumer. Shipping is an expanding, global business which carries most of the world's traded goods; it is relatively free of capacity constraints, and less harmful to the environment than other transport modes. The future offers substantial opportunities for the shipping industry, bringing with them the potential for significant inward investment and wider economic benefits for the world.