ABSTRACT
The freight market is not a uniform market where the trend is entirely up or down. Instead, it consists of a number of different part-markets, which are not necessarily dependent on one another and can often develop very differently. The freight market is, of course, dependent on the state of the world trade market and the ever-changing price of oil. Contact between the different freight markets may be more or less extensive. This depends on the type and size of ships, the commodities involved and, to a certain extent, on the distance of transportation. Each freight market has, however, different interested parties and thus often has separate networks of information and information channels. A basic division into principal freight markets can be made as follows: the dry cargo market; the tanker market; the reefer market; the car carrier market; and the passenger market. The general freight market and the so-called second-hand market for ships have considerable mutual influence.
