World trade starting well in 2017
Published January 26, 2017
Global trade was good at the turn of the year. The 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) actually rose to an all-time record level.
For the first time, the index climbed to the 124.3 mark in December 2016, and it was the fourth positive development in succession. The increase indicates that world trade started well in 2017.
The index is based on data from 81 world container ports that are continuously monitored by the ISL as part of its general market analysis which 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)
