RWI / ISL Container Throughput Index: Surprising increase in January

he container handling index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) surprisingly rose to 115.4 in January according to the current flash estimate. However, it is clearly below the peak of summer 2019.


The main results:

· The container handling index of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose surprisingly by 2.2 points to 115.4 in January. However, it is clearly below the peak of summer 2019.

· The results are not fully comparable with previous publications because the number of ports included was adjusted at the beginning of the year. The index was also converted to the new base year 2015.

· The flash estimate for February is based on information from 39 ports, which only make 40 percent of the throughput shown in the index. Since many high-turnover Asian ports have not yet published any data, major revisions can be expected.

· The RWI / ISL container handling index for February 2020 will be published on March 24, 2020.

Regarding the development of the index, RWI business manager Roland Döhrn said: "Container handling this month does not provide the hoped-for knowledge about the development of world trade, as many high-turnover ports in Asia have not yet provided data."

Source: RWI, Photo: Fotolia