Demo Environment — Nothing here affects your nation.

HŒMË Demos · Trade · 5–10 minutes

Will This Shipment Make Money?

A sale price tells you almost nothing on its own. Freight, port fees, contract charges, production cost and export tax all sit between gross revenue and the money you keep — and even a profitable shipment can leave the nation short of timber.

The scenario

Your nation has timber in store and three partners willing to buy. The proposed shipment looks attractive on gross revenue alone.

Timber in store
1,000 units
Reserve target
300 units
Storage capacity
1,200 units
Production cost
£3.20/unit
Domestic use
25 units/day
Proposed result
-£507

Choose a destination

Coral Verge returns £940 versus -£507 here. It pays £2 less per unit, but freight and fees are £2,000 cheaper — the route cost, not the sale price, decides the result.

Shape the shipment

Timber is the fully modelled product in this demo.

The default charter. Costs the listed freight rate per unit.

500 units

Changes revenue, production, freight, inventory and reserve status at once. 1,000 units are in store.

300 units

Stock you refuse to export, kept for construction and domestic businesses.

30 days

Contract charges scale with duration — a 90-day agreement costs three times a 30-day one.

5% tax

A tax moves money from the exporter to the treasury; a subsidy moves it the other way.

Shipment financials

Gross sale revenue(500 × £9.50)
£4,750
Production cost(£3.20/unit)
£1,600
Freight cost(Standard freight)
£2,700
Port fee(Meridian Reach)
£320
Contract charge(30 days)
£400
Export tax
£238

Net trade result

−£508

Profit margin

-10.7%

Loses £1.02 per unit

Treasury impact

+£238

Export tax collected

Producer impact

−£508

What the exporting business keeps

Freight capacity used

71%

500 of 700 units

Financial result

Critical-£507 net loss

Cause

Exporting 500 units to Meridian Reach earns £4,750 gross, but costs total £5,258 — dominated by freight of £2,700.

Impact

Every unit shipped loses £1. Only the £238 export tax reaches the treasury; the producer absorbs the loss.

Recommended action

This route needs £11 per unit to break even — Meridian Reach pays £10. Try a closer partner, cheaper freight, or a different quantity so fixed charges are spread further.

Urgency

Immediate

Domestic impact — measured separately

Healthy

Financial success and national impact are two different results. A trade can earn money and still hurt the nation.

Inventory before

1,000 units

Exported

500 units

Inventory after

500 units

Against reserve target

+200 units

Reserve target 300 units

Days of domestic supply

20.0days

At 25 units/day

Storage used

42%

Capacity 1,200 units

National impact

Healthy500 units retained

Cause

The shipment of 500 units leaves 200 units above the 300-unit protected reserve.

Impact

Domestic users have about 20.0 days of supply and storage sits at 42% of capacity.

Recommended action

Domestic needs are protected at this quantity.

Urgency

No action required

Things to try

Optional and unscored. There is no reward, and nothing here carries into your nation.

Why did this trade make or lose money?

  • 500 units to Meridian Reach earn £4,750 gross, but costs of £5,258 leave a loss of £508.
  • Freight of £2,700 and fixed charges of £720 do not care how much the buyer pays — distance and fixed fees decide most routes.
  • This route needs £10.57 per unit to break even, against the £9.50 on offer.
  • The nation keeps 500 units — above the 300-unit reserve. Profit and national benefit are judged separately.

No contract, shipment or inventory change was created. Reset to return to the starting scenario.