RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index: Strong setback for world trade

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) fell by 3.6 points to 117.1 in February after seasonal adjustment. Container throughput fell sharply, especially in China. But it also fell significantly in European ports.

The most important facts in brief:

The container throughput index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) fell significantly from 120.7 (revised) to 117.1 points in February after seasonal adjustment.
The North Range Index, which gives indications of economic developments in the northern euro area and Germany, fell from 111.1 (revised) to 106.0 in February compared to the previous month.
Chinese ports saw a sharp decline in container throughput. The index fell from 130.6 to 106.9. However, the data is likely to be at least partly distorted by the Chinese New Year. (see below the "Data on the special evaluation excluding Chinese ports" under "Downloads").
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index for March 2022 will be published on 29 April 2022.

Commenting on the development of the container throughput index, RWI head of economic research Torsten Schmidt says: "The recovery in container throughput has been dampened once again. So far, the sanctions against Russia probably only explain part of the decline in European ports; in addition, there are still bottlenecks in transport capacities."

Source: RWI, Photo: Fotolia