RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index

Container Throughput Index: Global trade is showing signs of recovery

29.06.2026

Global container throughput rose slightly in May, following a decline in the previous two months. This suggests that the pressures on world trade caused by the oil price shock resulting from the war in Iran are easing. Overall, world trade is proving to be more resilient than initially expected.

The essence in a nutshell:

Container throughput at international ports rose slightly in May 2026. It increased by 0.3 points from 141.6 (revised) to 141.9 index points. The index has thus stabilised following the significant declines in the previous two months.
The Nordrange Index, which is regarded as a leading indicator of economic development in the northern eurozone, particularly in Germany, rose from 119.6 points (revised) to 120.0 points.
By contrast, the index for Chinese ports fell from 158.9 to 157.6 points. This is likely to be a continued correction following the sharp rise in container throughput at the start of the year.
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for June 2026 will be published on 31 July 2026.

Torsten Schmidt

RWI-Konjunkturchef

The stabilisation of the RWI/ISL Container Handling Index suggests that the pressures caused by the war in Iran are easing. Should the negotiations between the US and Iran lead to the Strait of Hormuz being kept open on a permanent basis, global trade is likely to recover further.

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 82,6 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