RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index

China drives up container throughput

27.02.2025

Container throughput rose significantly in January compared with the previous month. The increase was particularly strong in Chinese ports. This is partly due to pull-forward effects: many transactions are completed before the Chinese New Year at the end of February. In northern European ports, on the other hand, the catch-up effects following the strikes in Antwerp and Rotterdam are coming to an end. As a result, European container throughput declined. Apart from these special effects, global container throughput showed a slight upward trend at the beginning of the year.

The essence in a nutshell:

The container throughput index of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose to 144.7 points in January after seasonal adjustment, compared with 142.1 points (revised) in the previous month.
The Nordrange Index, which provides indications of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, fell sharply from 122.2 points (revised) to 117.0 points in January.
Container throughput in Chinese ports rose significantly – from 161.7 points in the previous month (revised) to 169.4 points.
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for February 2026 will be published on March 27, 2026.

Torsten Schmidt

RWI-Konjunkturchef

In Europe, on the other hand, the positive effects of the port strike on the index are coming to an end. This is clearly reflected in a weaker North Range index value. The economic situation remains tense. The chaos surrounding US tariffs is once again causing uncertainty. Many companies are likely to continue rethinking their supply chains. Despite all these uncertainties, we are seeing the first signs of stabilization in global trade.

About the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index:

The index includes data on container throughput collected on an ongoing basis by the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor from 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 from 84 percent of the throughput represented in the index. Since international trade is mainly conducted by sea, container transshipments allow reliable conclusions to be drawn about world trade. Because many ports report on their activities just two weeks after the end of a month, the RWI/ISL Container Transshipment Index is a reliable early indicator of developments in international trade in manufactured goods and thus also of global economic activity.

The Container Throughput Index is part of the foreign trade statistics in the Federal Statistical Office’s „Dashboard Deutschland“

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