Evidence of cointegration in the freight forward market

Abstract

Merchant Shipping is the transport industry that deals with the sea transport of goods, and all related services. The main product of merchant shipping is the transport of goods and people, and is therefore a service, with all the consequences arising from the nature of this product (Zannetos, 1973). The production of this product, i.e. the transportation service, takes place in the shipping market. Compared with other markets of service production, the shipping market is far from being considered a uniform and homogeneous in any way. It is a set of separate markets that differ in the type of cargo, type of ship, the requirements of sea routes and geographical distribution (Gkiziakis, 2002). According to the definition of Rochdale Report (1970): “Shipping is a complex industry and the conditions that determine its functions in a sector do not necessarily apply in another. It may for some purposes to be better thought of as a set of associated industries. The main assets, the ships, which vary widely in size and type, provide a wide range of services for a variety of goods, either for short or longer distances”.