RWI/ISL Container Throughput Input Index
Container throughput stable despite disruptions in the Red Sea
26.01.2024
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 in December is virtually unchanged from the previous month at a seasonally adjusted 125.1 points. The attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea have not yet had any visible impact on container throughput. Container throughput in European ports even increased slightly at the end of the year.
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) was only slightly lower in December than in the previous month at 125.1 points compared to 125.4 points (revised).
- Container throughput also fell slightly in the Chinese ports. The index value fell from 137.4 to 136.9 points.
- The North Range Index, which gives an indication of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, rose quite significantly in December compared to the previous month from 101.3 (revised) to 102.3 points.
- The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for January 2024 will be published on 29 February 2024.
Torsten Schmidt
About the RWI/ISL- Container Throughput Index
The index takes into account container throughput data continuously collected on an ongoing basis by the ISL Monthly Container Port Monitor at 92 international ports, representing approximately 64 per cent of global container throughput. The present flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index relies on data representing approximately 37 per cent of the throughput represented in the index. Since international trade is mainly handles by sea, the development of container throughput provides reliable insights into global merchandise trade. As many ports already report their data a fortnight after the end of each month, the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index is a reliable early indicator of the international merchandise trade and hence also of global economic activity.
The Container Troughput Index is 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.
