Forecasting trends within the maritime industry

Ocean freight is a vast and complex industry, where numerous variables influence the cost of transporting goods across the globe. For commercial stakeholders in the maritime sector, access to accurate and timely information is crucial—especially when it comes to freight rates, which are highly volatile and notoriously difficult to predict. At the Department of Maritime Operations at the University of South-Eastern Norway, researchers have developed a cutting-edge software solution designed to tackle this challenge. Through the MaritimeForecasting project, the team has combined advanced mathematical models with machine learning to forecast freight rates with remarkable accuracy—up to 95% within the liner shipping segment. Unlike most existing platforms that rely heavily on historical data, MaritimeForecasting leverages machine learning to identify patterns and trends in real time. This allows the platform to deliver weekly, monthly, and yearly rate forecasts, while remaining competitively priced. In this project a functional software prototype platform was developed and tested with a target user group. The team explored aspects such as user experience, market interest, pricing willingness, and conducted initial analyses of possible business models and market segments. The project team includes the software’s inventor, Dr. Ziaul Haque Munim—a specialist in maritime economics and logistics—along with the innovation manager and business developers from USN-TTO COIN, the university’s unit for commercialization and innovation.

The project has led to the development of a functional prototype of the MaritimeForecasting platform, presented as a web-based solution for freight rate prediction. The prototype has been tested with a target group, where factors such as user experience, market demand and willingness to pay have been investigated. In parallel, relevant business scenarios have been evaluated. The project has generated an intellectual property (IPR) strategy and a business case report that will be used in future commercialization activites of MaritimeForecasting.