The essence in a nutshell:

• The Container Throughput Index of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) fell slightly in September (seasonally adjusted) to 136.7 points, compared to 137.3 points (revised) in the previous month.
• The North Range Index, which provides indications of economic activity in the northern euro area and Germany, recorded another noticeable decline—from 117.0 points (revised) to 115.3 points in September.
• Container throughput at Chinese ports rose significantly—from 151.7 points (revised) in the previous month to 153.3 points.
• The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for October 2025 will be published on November 27, 2025.

Commenting on the development of the Container Throughput Index, RWI’s Head of Business Cycle Analysis, Torsten Schmidt, said: “U.S. trade policy continues to shape global container throughput. Companies are responding to announcements from the U.S. administration with short-term adjustments to their exports to the United States. There is still no sign of an end to the longer-term adjustments to the new role of the U.S. in the global economy, not least because most agreements have not yet been fully settled. How strongly this ongoing tension will ultimately weaken global trade cannot yet be quantified.”

About the RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index

The index is based on data continuously collected within the framework of the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor, covering container throughput at 90 international ports, which together account for around 64 percent of global container handling. The current flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index is based on data representing 92 percent of the total throughput included in the index.
Since international trade is conducted primarily by sea, container throughput provides a reliable indication of global trade activity. Because many ports report their figures within two weeks after the end of a month, the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index serves as a dependable leading indicator of international trade in manufactured goods—and, by extension, of global economic activity.
The Container Throughput Index is part of the foreign trade statistics in the Federal Statistical Office’s “Dashboard Deutschland.” It is also used by many international organizations 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

Data on the container handling index and Nordrange index

Figure

RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: North Range

Data for special analysis excluding Chinese ports

Figure