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CURRENT PRESS RELEASES

Joint Economic Forecast Autumn Report 2025: Fiscal stimulus masks structural weakness

The German economy is emerging from the trough and is likely to regain some momentum over the next two years. Following stagnation in the first half of the year, the Joint Economic Forecast project group predicts gross domestic product growth of 0.2 percent for the current year in its fall report. In the next two years, an expansionary fiscal policy is likely to accelerate economic growth…

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: Global trade defies US tarriffs

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) increased in July compared to the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 137.5 points after a revised 135.4 points in June. This has evened out the losses related to US tarriffs of the previous months. The…

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index stagnates: US customs policy slows down global trade

According to the latest flash estimate, the container throughput index compiled by the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) remained largely unchanged in June at a seasonally adjusted 136.5 points compared with the previous month, reflecting the continuing weakness in global trade. Since the beginning of the year, the index has…

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: Global Trade Remains Strong – Signs of Chinese Exports Being Rerouted to Europe

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index by RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose in May (seasonally adjusted) to 138.3 points, up from a revised 137.9 in April. This indicates that global trade remains strong – despite the temporary sharp increase in tariffs on imports to the United States.…

RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index rises slightly in April – global trade defies US tariff policy

The Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose slightly in April. According to the latest flash estimate, the index climbed to a seasonally adjusted 137.3 points, up from 136.2 points (revised) in March. The latest development shows that global trade has so far remained stable despite increasing…

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: US customs policy shows first effects

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) fell to a seasonally adjusted 135.3 points in March compared to 137.6 points (revised) in the previous month. After container throughput in European ports had already fallen in the previous month, shipping trade is…

Joint Economic Forecast Spring Report 2025: Geopolitical turn intensifies crisis – structural reforms even more urgent

The German economy will continue to tread water in 2025. In their spring report, the leading economic research institutes forecast an increase in gross domestic product of just 0.1 per cent for the current year. For 2026, the institutes expect gross domestic product to increase by 1.3 per cent. In the short term, the new US trade policy and economic policy uncertainty are weighing on the German…

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: Effects of US tariff policy not yet visible

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose to a seasonally adjusted 135.1 points in February compared to 134.0 points (revised) in the previous month. The rise is due to an increase in container throughput in many regions of the world. In European ports,…

RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index: International tensions weigh on global trade

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose to a seasonally adjusted 133.1 points in January compared to 128.9 points (revised) in the previous month. This compensates for the decline in December. Overall, however, container throughput has stagnated since…

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: Global trade comes to a standstill at the end of the year

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) fell to a seasonally adjusted 131.2 points in December compared to 133.6 points (revised) in the previous month. A decline was observed in all regions of the world.