There will be some changes in the freight shipping industry taking place in the next few years. These changes are necessary if the UK's shipping industry is to remain profitable and competitive. According to the minister responsible for freight shipping in the UK, the global changes that take place every day make the changes necessary. As the patterns of world trading shift and change, it is believed that the British freight shipping industry needs to evolve to meet the new demands. Because of this, the freight shipping industry is presented with a unique opportunity, the opportunity to feed into future government policy and current thinking. All companies operating in the freight shipping sector have been given the opportunity to look into a review of the industry, thus enabling them to have an influence on the port policy for the next twenty or so years. The freight shipping review will examine a number of factors, such as whether new capacity is needed and if so where. The issues of funding and the environment will be covered too. The government insists that they are open minded about whether they should intervene more or less in the shipping industry. To help them determine how hands off they are, and to find out what is needed to drive the sector forward, input information will be required. The freight shipping industry continues to grow, because over the years UK has performed well within this sector, while the valuation of port operators has increased substantially over the last couple of years owing to off shore investment. A number of British ports are being taken over by international investors.