Is world trade gaining ground again?
The container throughput index published by the German research body Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI - Leibniz) and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) came in at 133.7 points in November 2018 (validated).
That was a slight rise of 0.5 points in comparison to the initial flash estimate of 133.2 points. Nevertheless, the November figures were still higher than the monthly average of the full year 2018. The preceding October was a record month with 135.1 points. This indicates that world trade is recovering - albeit less dynamically.
The full index is based on data from 88 international container ports that account for about 60% of the worldwide container handling. The RWI/ISL container throughput index for December 2018 will be published on 25 January 2019. (kd)