RWI/ISL Container Throughput Input Index

US customs policy shows first effects

25.04.2025

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) fell to a seasonally adjusted 135.3 points in March compared to 137.6 points (revised) in the previous month. After container throughput in European ports had already fallen in the previous month, shipping trade is now declining in almost all regions 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) fell to 135.3 points in March compared to 137.6 points (revised) in the previous month.
The North Range Index, which provides an indication of economic development in the northern eurozone and Germany, fell from 112.8 (revised) to 112.1 points in March compared to the previous month.
In the Chinese ports, container throughput fell to 154.8 points compared to 157.8 points (revised) in the previous month.
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for April 2025 will be published on 28. May 2025.

Torsten Schmidt

RWI’s head of economic research

Global container throughput is sending out the first alarm signals due to US customs policy. While container throughput rose in almost all regions of the world in January and February, this was followed by a slump in March. A pull-forward effect: traders apparently rushed to ship their goods in the first two months of the year before the announced tariffs came into force. Trade between China and the USA in particular is likely to come under further pressure in the coming months. And although tariffs have been temporarily suspended for some countries, this is hardly a reason to sound the all-clear - the erratic tariff announcements and the unpredictability of future US trade policy continue to keep global markets in a state of permanent uncertainty.

Sönke Maatsch

Head of Maritime Markets at the ISL

We are particularly observing developments in the container ports on the west coast of the USA, through which the majority of Asian trade is handled. This is where the effects of the US tariffs against China will be felt first and particularly strongly. In March, imports there were still 12 per cent higher than in the same month last year.

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 90 international ports, representing approximately 64% of global container throughput. The present flash estimate for the Container Throughput Index relies on data representing approximately 67% 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.

Further information

Current index data

Current index data China

ISL Container Throughput Index

RWI Essen Container Throughput Index

Contact

Sönke Maatsch

Tel.

+49 421 22096-32

maatsch@isl.org

Dieter Stockmann

Tel.

49 421 22096-33

stockmann@isl.org