According to the August RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index, international merchandise trade continued the sideward movement observed since the beginning of the year. The Index deteriorated slightly from a corrected 116.1 in July to 116.0. Since seven months now the index is stuck at a more or less unchanged level.

The index for July was curbed by only 0.2 points. The current August flash forecast is based on a solid sample of 49 ports covering more than 82% of the container throughput covered by 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 Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) as part of its 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 September 2013 will be published on 22 October 2013.

Contact:
Katharina Brach (press office): 0049-201-8149-244, e-mail

Chart in high resolution

Data

Further information: www.rwi-essen.de/containerindex.