The escalating trade conflict between the US and China has not yet led to a decline in global container trade volumes, at least up to July 2019. Quite the contrary seems to be true. The seasonal and working day adjusted “Container Throughput Index” of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research RWI (Essen / Germany; www.rwi-essen.de) and Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL, Bremerhaven / Germany; www.isl.org) reached an all-time high of 139 points in the last month reported. Nonetheless, and despite the surprisingly positive value, it is noted that world trade is facing severe downward pressures.

The index is based on data from 83 international ports, accounting for around 60% of global container trade volumes. However, since the beginning of the current trade disputes, the index has experienced an unprecedented volatility, especially when compared to the previous years.