Eurotronics manufactures components for use in small electronic products such as computers, CD players, and radios at plants in Belgium, Germany, and France. The parts are transported by truck to Hamburg, where they are shipped overseas to customers in Mexico, South America, the United States, and the Pacific Rim. The company has to reserve space on ships months and sometimes years in advance. This requires an accurate forecasting model. Following are the number of cubic feet of container space the company has used in each of the past 18 months:
Month ..... Space (1,000s ft.3)
1 .......... 10.6
2 .......... 12.7
3 .......... 9.8
4 .......... 11.3
5 .......... 13.6
6 .......... 14.4
7 .......... 12.2
8 .......... 16.7
9 .......... 18.1
10 .......... 19.2
11 .......... 16.3
12 .......... 14.7
13 .......... 18.2
14 .......... 19.6
15 .......... 21.4
16 .......... 22.8
17 .......... 20.6
18 .......... 18.7
Develop a forecasting model that you believe would provide the company with relatively accurate forecasts for the next year and indicate the forecasted shipping space required for the next 3 months.