According to the latest flash estimate by the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), the seasonally adjusted Container Throughput Index stagnated at 130.4 points in June. A pronounced drop in European ports was compensated by an increase in the rest of the world.
The essence in a nutshell:
• The seasonally adjusted Container Throughput Index of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) stagnated at 130.4 points in June.
• The North Range Index, which provides an indication of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, decreased from 112.9 points (revised) in May to 111.3 points in June. Container traffic keeps moving sideward with strong fluctuations.
• In Chinese ports, container throughput increased slightly from 144.9 points in May to 145.9 points in June.
• The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for July 2024 will be published on August 29, 2024.
RWI head of economic research Torsten Schmidt comments on the development of the Container Throughput Index: “Despite the month-on-month stagnation, the underlying trend of global container throughput is still pointing upwards. Therefore, we still expect a moderate recovery of world trade during the second half of 2024.”
The index is based on data on container throughput in 92 international ports, which account for around 64 percent of global container throughput, collected on an ongoing basis as part of the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor.
The current flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index is based on data from around 54 percent of the throughput shown in the index. As most international trade is handled by sea, container throughput allows reliable conclusions to be drawn about global trade.
As many ports report on their activities just two weeks after the end of the month, the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index is a reliable early indicator of the development of international trade in processed goods and therefore also of global economic activity.
The Container Throughput Index is part of the foreign trade statistics in the “Dashboard Detschland” of the Federal Statistical Office. 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
