WAYWARD SUN
PROFESSION · ECONOMY

Trade & Hauling

Make money and create value by moving resources, equipment, and industrial output between the places that produce them and the places that need them.

Regional differences are the trade game.Markets matter because Sol is not homogeneous. Resource fingerprints, processing access, manufacturers, stations, hazards, and travel time create reasons for goods to move.
THE LOOP

Trade is a route you create, not a ship activity you start.

There is no Haul activity button. You use the same physical systems as the rest of the game: local markets and storage, ship cargo, travel, and another station's market.

01Read the local Market
→
02Buy, source, or stage goods
→
03Move them into ship cargo
→
04Travel to the destination
→
05Sell, list, store, or use them there
IN GAME

The Market is a station service.

When docked at a station with Market service, the current Market view combines NPC and player contracts in one local order book. Goods remain tied to that station until you move them into ship cargo and physically travel with them.

Ceres Exchange MarketStation → Market · local contracts and storage
Cargo & MarketCeres Exchange
Local station
DOCKED

Ceres Exchange

Local Market contracts and station storage
MARKET

Buy + sell orders

Filter local contracts by side, category, equipment type, size, rarity, or value.
Resource contractsNPC and player supply or demand can coexist in the same local order book.
Physical equipmentSpecific player equipment instances can be listed for sale with craftsmanship, condition, and maker provenance.
SchematicsKnowledge artifacts can also appear as station Market contracts.
GEOGRAPHY

A route is an economic relationship between places.

Market orders are station-local, and your storage holdings are station-local. Regional production, processing specialties, organizations, player listings, and authored NPC supply/demand can make the same item useful for very different reasons at different destinations.

YOUR BUILD

A hauler is more than a large cargo number.

General or specialized cargo capacity
Drive capability and ship mass
Captain & Crew Navigation / Piloting
Transit Expertise
Power, condition, and environmental readiness
Route knowledge and local Market awareness
CHOICES

Hauling supports several play styles.

Bulk freightMove large low-margin cargo efficiently.
High-value cargoCarry smaller, expensive equipment, schematics, or research resources between locations.
Industrial logisticsMove inputs between harvesting, refining, manufacturing, and shipyards.
Market makingPost player resource buy orders or resource/equipment sell orders at the station where you want to trade.
THE CURRENT MARKET

NPC continuity and player opportunity use the same station surface.

NPC contracts keep critical supply and demand available. Players can post resource buy orders, resource sell orders, and specific equipment sell orders. Equipment buy orders are not currently enabled because equipment is instance-specific. Player orders reserve the credits or goods they need in escrow.

Buy locallyNPC purchases enter local station storage; player-market purchases settle as local deliveries that you claim into storage.
Sell resourcesFill local NPC or player buy orders using station storage—or ship cargo where the contract supports direct resource sale.
List equipmentSpecific physical equipment instances can be escrowed and offered to other players.
Move supplyLoad goods from station storage into your ship, travel, then unload them at the destination.
Feed industryUse trade to connect harvesting, processing, research, manufacturing, and fitting without doing every step yourself.
← All ProfessionsCargoMarkets & Regional EconomiesIndustry