Container throughput increases only in China
The essence in a nutshell:
• The seasonally adjusted Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose to 133.2 points in July. This represents a continuation of the rather rapid rise in the trend.
• The North Range Index, which provides an indication of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, fell from 102.4 to 101.6 points in July compared to the previous month. The recovery of recent months thus appears to have been interrupted. This month's index was calculated without the data from Antwerp due to technical problems. The index is therefore only comparable with previous publications to a limited extent.
• In Chinese ports, container throughput rose sharply from 147.5 points in the previous month to 150.3 points.
• The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for August 2024 will be published on 30 September 2024.
RWI head of economic research Torsten Schmidt comments on the development of the Container Throughput Index: "The moderate upturn in global trade is continuing. The European economies, especially the German economy, are still not benefiting fully from this development. We therefore expect the impetus for German exports to remain weak in the coming months."
The index is based on data on container throughput in 92 international ports, which account for around 64 percent of global container throughput, collected on an ongoing basis as part of the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor. The current flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index is based on data from around 53 percent of the throughput shown in the index. As most international trade is handled by sea, container throughput allows reliable conclusions to be drawn about global trade. As many ports report on their activities just two weeks after the end of the month, the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index is a reliable early indicator of the development of international trade in processed goods and therefore also of global economic activity.
The Container Throughput Index is part of the foreign trade statistics in the "Dashboard Detschland" of the Federal Statistical Office. It is also used by many international bodies such as UNCTAD and is included in the "Shipping/Port Data" section of the WTO's Global Trade Data Portal.
Data series for individual ports are available in the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor.
Further background information on the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index can be found at www.rwi-essen.de/containerindex.
Your contacts:
Prof. Dr. Torsten Schmidt, Phone: +49 201 8149-287, torsten.schmidt@rwi-essen.de
Sabine Weiler (Communications), Phone: +49 201 8149-213, sabine.weiler@rwi-essen.de
Data RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index
Graphic in printable resolution
RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: North Range
