This popped to my mind while driving home from work. Why not incorporate the event Jinx posted to this? Maybe one (or some) of the shipments could be dedicated to this, like "it's absolutely vital that shipment of boron from Pittsburg reaches Leeds". No need to mention quantities. It does not matter if only one trader faction ship shows up and flies the stuff there without escort or not. It doesn't have to be a massive event, just preannounced starting time to spice things up and to give pirates/opposition a chance to do something about it. If the pirates decide to pass then it's their loss. No elaborate arrangements for that little number.
If the parties involved here want I can play the game master here and take the burden of setting the event up from your hands. In a last resort we could also have this event without a player faction client by me being the task master, but it would rob a lot of the RP involved.