WEEK 1 - QUARTER 1, 2050
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING FACING DOOMSDAY. The Interstellar Shipping Company was formed by the United Nations in order to facilitate interplanetary shipping. However, now that the company has been tossed into the wild with little government support, the company is looking down the barrel of insolvency. Interplanetary shipping is extremely unprofitable at this time, especially when Transluna stepping in to the Earth-Luna arena. Because of the extreme low volume of trade between worlds, companies involved in shipping are practically subsidizing companies shipping goods along the lines.
The ISC is trying to find buyers for its lines. Gloria Hamm told a conference in Munich that if there are no buyers before the end of the quarter, it will be forced to liquidate lines.
"We are weighing our options, but the lines we would close down, in order of most likely to least likely, are Titan, Luna, Venus, and Mercury."
Titan and Venus would be very bad news for companies like Black Hole Investments and Mammoth Provisions, companies whose success can be laid almost entirely at the feet of massively favorable shipping rates. The company that stands most to profit is Transluna, a Chinese firm that is specializing in supplying the moon with basic electronics and raw materials from Earth.
Start-Ups to Watch in Q1 2050
Black Hole Investments: This company is looking forward to strong performance this quarter. Based in the United States, this firm exports Basic Electronics to Venus and Live Animals to Luna. The company is currently valued at $1.3 million, thanks in large part to generous shipping rates.
Mammoth Provisions: Mammoth Provisions, another Earth-based firm, manufactures Basic Electronics and raises Live Animals for export to Titan.
Sabercat Suppliers: This firm is 90% owned by Earth-based Mammoth Provisions, with the remaining 10% owned by its factor, Nicole Merle. The firm specializes in manufacturing basic consumables on Titan and exporting to Earth, taking advantage of dirt cheap interplanetary shipping.
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Sheets have been updated! Over the next week or so, watch this thread for news about the result of various actions. The next quarter will begin roughly next Wednesday!
Errata
1. Legacy bonuses. The longer a line is supplying a line, the more of a bonus is generates. If a line serves one destination for a full year, it will gain +1 to the profit modifier. If this line switches away from the destination for any reason, it loses all legacy bonuses and progress toward a legacy bonus.
2. Lines built don't begin production until the beginning of the following quarter.