Trade routes should be optimal when competing with each other when there are not enough convoys.

[illseeyoudrum]

I need rubber. A lot. Also hardwood because it is so hard to get it in general for your furniture manufactories. They are both at highest price so I am having supply shortage. But my sugar, which only I have 1 trade route for, has 9% price. The 75% price should compete with 9% price when not having enough convoys.

I am not sure how this would be implemented, but I have several ideas.

Balance basis: The trade routes tend to have same good balance percentage.
Profitable basis: Trade routes can incrementally go lower or higher depending on profitability. Not sure if this is already implemented, but anyway this needs to be a clearer information if it is.
Supply shortage basis: Always prioritize where there is a supply shortage. Otherwise profitable basis.

The current system as I understand is that trade routes don't go down unless they are unprofitable, which isn't optimal. The only way to fix this is just restarting all trade nodes. Also as an idea an algorithm to (just) calculate trade routes on profitability basis may depend on restarting nodes (initial 0) and slowly going to that optimal. I believe it shouldn't take that much computation compared to pops computation.

 

[PedroLuiz]

Convoys should be a good sold on the market

 

[illseeyoudrum]

Convoys represent port capacity though, so I would rather go for a port buff if that is necessary.

 

[Fawr]

This seems a no brainer.

I would add a small tweak to avoid switching back and forward between goods of very similar prices (a bit how labour needs notably higher income to change where it works).