ABSTRACT
One of the most comm~m applications of maritime economics is in the preparation of forecasts and market research studies. Because the shipping industry is international in its operations and highly complex in its economic structure, the task facing the maritime researcher is extremely demanding. Many of the problem areas have been discussed in earlier chapters of this book; the intention in this chapter is to develop a practical approach to the preparation of forecasts and market research reports that will be of value to decision-makers. Before doing so, however, we shall briefly examine the purpose for which forecasts are produced and the obvious difficulty of achieving reliable results in an uncertain world.
