Global trade growth as measured in container throughput continues to evade any clear pattern, according to the latest Container Throughput Index of the RWI/ISL released this month.
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index shows a decrease from 123 points in June to 121.9 points in July.
“Thus, the unsteady development proceeds, which has been observed already for half a year—even if the index continues to range at a high level,” said the report. “This indicates that global trade is still a topic without a clear tendency.”
The global container traffic index for June has been revised downward to 123 points from the earlier estimate made last month of 123.2 points, which is clearly below the long-term average, said RWI/ISL.
The flash estimate for July is based on data from 34 ports, covering a total of about two-thirds of container throughput shown in the index.
The Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI) and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) come up with the index each month based on the data of 75 world container ports covering about 60 percent of worldwide container handling.
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 Container Throughput Index is a reliable early indicator for the development of international merchandise trade and hence for the activity of the global economy.
Photo: Bpong Hneng
