Much of our modern information on the maritime economy is based primarily on historical events in the global economy. As the world becomes increasingly globalized and interconnected, shipping and port industries are facing challenges and enjoying greater business opportunities. Maritime shipping is primarily the primary means of transporting parts and finished goods around the world and has recently attracted increasing attention from maritime economists. Because shipping is a very old industry, with a history of continuous, sometimes gradual and occasionally catastrophic change, from time to time we find shipping and trade drifting away from the economy only to magically reappear on some new voyages. No other industry has played such a central role in economic travel for thousands of years. The airline industry, the closest counterpart to maritime shipping, has just 60 years of economic history. The maritime industry plays a fundamental role in economic development and trade of countries. In essence, economic development, trade and transportation support each other. Approximately 53% of all finished products in America use ocean transportation to disperse internationally and are dependent on the shipping industry (http://www.wto.org). A striking feature of the outward shipping business is the diverse character of corporations in America. different parts of the industry. For example, liner companies and bulk freight companies belong to the same industry, but appear to have little else in common. Different groups of companies are involved in the transport chain, some directly, others indirectly. The direct actors are the owners of the cargo, often primary producers such as oil or iron ore companies... middle of paper... the demand "hare" in the transport table, but rarely captures it. In a market with these dynamics we should expect breakeven, in the sense of constant profits for several years, to be quite rare. (source 5) One last thought. At the center of the model are the people who ship investors and shippers of goods. Their job is to negotiate the rate for each vessel and inevitably the agreed rates vary depending on how the negotiating parties feel. One ship might be repaired for $20,000 a day on Monday, but her sister ship might be repaired for $30,000 a day on Tuesday because charterers panicked overnight, perhaps due to some rumors they heard. Mathematical models cannot hope to simulate this type of commodity auction, so at least in the short term this scientific study is as important as the fundamentals. This, in summary, is the market model that controls investments in maritime transport.