Maritime volumes continue to grow says RWI/ISL
This year's tailwind for container volumes was reflected again in the August container throughput index, compiled by the German research body Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI - Leibniz) and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL).
The consolidated figures for the month under review saw a marked surge from 127.9 to 128.8 points, a stronger uptick than originally predicted. Therefore world trade is continuing to grow.
The analysis for August is based on the figures of 41 ports which represent about 73% of the throughput the index covers.
The index itself is based on data from 81 world container ports that are continuously monitored by the ISL as part of its general market analysis that covers about 60% of worldwide container handling.
Given that most of the international merchandise is transported by ship, the volume of container handling activities provides reliable indicators about the state of world trade. (kd)