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RWI/ISL Container Throughput Input Index: Revival of global trade

The current flash forecast for the Container Throughput Index of RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) indicates a seasonally adjusted increase to 121.2 points in April, compared to the previous month. This shows a continuing slight upturn of container throughput.

The essence in a nutshell:

  • The Container Throughput Index of RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) recorded a seasonally adjusted increase in April from 119.2 (revised) to 121.2 points.
  • In Chinese ports, container throughput further strengthened. The index recorded an increase to 138.9 points in April, compared to 135.3 points in March.
  • Container throughput in European ports finally seems to stabilize. The North Range Index, which considers major continental European ports on the North Sea, recorded an increase in April from 94.9 to 96.4 points, compared to the previous month. However, this does not indicate a fundamental turning point of the general trend, as the trend component of the index remains downward.
  • The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for the month of May 2023 will be published on June 29th, 2023.

Commenting on the development of the Container Throughput Index, RWI’s head of economic research Torsten Schmidt says: “After a weak start to the year, global container throughput has picked up a bit. In Europe, however, container throughput continues to trail behind the rest of the world. High inflation and rising interest rates are still dampening demand for international products.”

About the RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index:

The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index consists of container throughput data from 92 international ports gathered continuously by the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor as part of its market observation. These ports account for approximately 64 percent of global container traffic. The current flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index is based on data from about 61 percent of the total index displayed here. As international trade is handled primarily by sea, reliable conclusions can be drawn here from container port throughput data. Furthermore, the index is a reliable early indicator of international trade of manufactured goods as well as global economic activity as most ports already report their activities within two weeks after the end of each month. The container throughput index is part of the statistics on foreign trade in the „Dashboard Deutschland“ of the Federal Statistical Office.

Data series for individual ports are available in the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor.
For more information on the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index, please visit
www.rwi-essen.de/containerindex.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Torsten Schmidt, Tel.: +49 (0) 201 8149-287, torsten.schmidt@rwi-essen.de 
Alexander Bartel (Communications), Tel.: +49 (0) 201 8149-354, alexander.bartel@rwi-essen.de

Data Container Throughput Index and North Range Index

Graphic Container Throughput Index in printable resolution

 

RWI/ISL-Containerumschlag-Index: Nordrange

 

Graphic in printable resolution

Data for special evaluation excluding chinese ports