The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index decreased notably from a corrected 116.3 to 115.3 in June. The index is continuing to move up and down as in the previous months. The underlying trend since the turn of the year 2012/13 is declining, pointing towards at most a moderate expansion of world merchandise trade during the first half of the year.

The May value of the index was corrected upwards by 0.6 point since its first publication. The reason for this adjustment was positive results for several ports whose data were not yet available last month. The amplitude of the revision was slightly higher than average. The current flash forecast for June is based on a sample of 35 ports handling roughly 72% of the container traffic represented in the Index.

The Index is based on data of 73 world container ports covering approximately 60% of worldwide container handling. The 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 July 2013 will be published on August 27th.

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Torsten Schmidt (RWI), Tel.: +49 0201 81 49-287, 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.