RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: World trade recovers from energy price shock

According to the latest flash estimate, the Container Throughput Index of RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose in May compared to the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 123.4 points. This means that container throughput has now risen for four months in a row. However, it has not yet reached the level of last summer.

The most important facts in brief:

• The Container Throughput Index of RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose to 123.4 points in May, seasonally adjusted, compared to the previous month (revised 122.3).
• The expansion of container throughput was particularly strong in Chinese ports. The index increased to 140.5 points in May from 136.4 points in April.
  In European ports, container throughput fell again after a strong increase the month before. The North Range Index of important continental European ports on the North Sea fell in May from 108.4 to 104.1 compared to the previous month. Overall, however, there are now signs of stabilisation in container throughput in Europe.
• The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for June 2023 will be published on 28 July 2023.

Commenting on the development of the container throughput index, RWI head of economic research Torsten Schmidt says: "Global container throughput is slowly recovering from last year's energy price shock. In Europe, however, container throughput continues to lag behind the other regions of the world. The rise in energy prices and thus the loss of purchasing power was more severe here than in many other regions of the world. Accordingly, the recovery will also take somewhat longer."

Source: RWI Essen, Photo: Fotolia