Global trade appears to have strengthened slightly again in June, according to the latest edition of the Container Throughput Index of the RWI/ISL.
The index has increased from 121.3 points recorded in May to 123.2 points in June, noted the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI) and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) in a media release.
The data for May was unchanged from the estimate issued in April.
The current estimate for June is based on data of 36 ports covering two-thirds of the container throughput represented in the index, and with this coverage, RWI/ISL does not see any major future revisions in its data.
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index is based on data of 75 world container ports covering approximately 60 percent of worldwide container handling. The ports are continuously monitored by the ISL as part of their market analysis.
Because large parts of international merchandise trade are transported by ship, the development of port handling is a good indicator for world trade. As many ports release information about their activities only two weeks after the end of the respective month, the RWI/ISL said the index is a reliable early indicator for the development of international merchandise trade and hence for the activity of the global economy.
Photo: Nik Morris (van Leiden)
