The essence in a nutshell:

• The container throughput index compiled by the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) fell to 137.5 points in November after seasonal adjustment, compared with 138.1 points (revised) in the previous month.
• The Nordrange Index, which provides indications of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, rose sharply from 111.2 points (revised) to 118.0 points in November.
• Container throughput in Chinese ports also declined, from 152.3 points in the previous month (revised) to 150.2 points.
• The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for December 2025 will be published on January 30, 2026.

Commenting on the development of the container throughput index, RWI Chief Economist Torsten Schmidt said: "Global container throughput is proving remarkably resilient to trade policy turmoil. For Europe, this is no reason to sound the all-clear. While we are stagnating, others are consolidating their positions on the world market. The globalization dividend has been used up. Anyone who still relies on exports instead of structural reforms is playing Russian roulette with the future. Solutions for domestic growth weakness must therefore be found in Germany."

About the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index:

The index is based on data on container handling collected continuously within the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor for 90 international ports, which account for around 64 percent of global container throughput. The current flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index is based on data covering 75 percent of the throughput represented in the index. Since international trade is largely conducted by sea, container throughput provides reliable insights into global trade. As many ports report their activities just two weeks after the end of a month, the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index serves as a reliable leading indicator of developments in international trade in manufactured goods and thus 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 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.

Data on the container handling index and Nordrange index

Figure

RWI/ISL-Containerumschlag-Index: Nordrange

Data for special analysis excluding Chinese ports

Figure