What about Barges?

[DSE-]

A barge run will sometimes be shorter(no disruptions) but the vast majority of the time be much longer.

A TL disruption in a 5k is no big deal, you can cruise to the next dock lane segment before the one which was knocked out is live again.

In a barge, a TL disruption is a genuine 10+ minute delay.

In other words, results are not maintainable in a barge.

When I first bought a barge I did repeated trips combining trade lane and open space flights through four systems and back. I also did the exact same trip in a 5k with the same commodities numerous times to compare efficiencies. The net result was a barge, in spite of the upsets by NPC's cow tossing it, and the TL disruptions by NPC's carried about 12,000 units of commodities more. The 5k did 3.7 return trips (approx) per one return trip on a barge. These were not high-return commodities.

Traveling through open space long distances and multiple systems with no trade lanes, the barge was less efficient due to long delays to cruise speed, avoiding asteroid fields etc. The 5k would do nearly 5 return trips per one barge return trip. High-return items (iridium ore for instance) made it worthwhile for a barge due to about 7,000 units per return trip.