The RWI/ISL Container Handling Index receded slightly in February as expected. However, the decrease from a seasonally adjusted 117.6 to 116.7 was moderate given January’s strong hike. The latter was a result of this year’s late Chinese New Year celebrations due to which trade contracts with China were brought forward to January.

The January index value did not change since last month’s flash forecast. The current flash forecast for February is based on a sample of 24 ports handling roughly 40% of the traffic represented in the index. We therefore still expect significant revisions.

The Index is based on data for 72 international ports covering more roughly 60% of world container handling. These ports are continuously monitored by the ISL as part of their market analysis. Because large parts of international merchandise trade are transported by ship, the development of port handling is a good indicator for world trade. As many ports release information about their activities only two weeks after the end of the respective month, the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index is a reliable early indicator for the development of international merchandise trade and hence for the activity of the global economy.

The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for March 2013 will be published on April 24th, 2013.

For further information, please contact:
Prof. Dr. Roland Döhrn (RWI), Tel.: +49 201 81 49-262, email
Dr. Sönke Maatsch (ISL), Tel.: +49 421 220 96-32, email
Sabine Weiler (Press Office RWI), Tel.: +49 0201 81 49-213, email

Chart in printable version

Data

Further information about the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index is available at www.rwi-essen.de/containerindex.