RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index
Global trade remains robust - signs of Chinese exports being diverted to Europe
26.06.2025
According to the latest flash estimate by the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), the Container Throughput Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 138.3 points in May, compared to a revised 137.9 points in April. This means that global trade remains robust - despite the significant increase in tariffs on imports to the USA in the meantime. However, it is striking that container throughput in the US West Coast ports, which handle a large proportion of trade with China, has fallen noticeably. Slightly fewer containers were also handled in the Chinese ports in May than in the previous month. In contrast, container throughput in European ports once again increased significantly. This could indicate that some Chinese exporters are increasingly shipping their goods to Europe in order to avoid the increased trade barriers in the USA.
The most important facts in brief:
- The Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose to a seasonally adjusted 138.3 points in April compared to 137,9 points (revised) in the previous month.
- The North Range Index, which provides an indication of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, rose from 115.9 (revised) to 117.4 points in May compared to the previous month.
- In the Chinese ports, container throughput fell slightly to 156.5 points (revised) compared to 156.7 points in the previous month.
- The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for June 2025 will be published on 29. July 2025.
Torsten Schmidt
About the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index:
The index is based on data on container throughput in 90 international ports, which account for around 64 per cent 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 76 per cent 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 a 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 statistics on foreign trade in the „Dashboard Deutschland“ 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.
