London - The Drewry Container Port Throughput Indices are a series of calendar adjusted volume growth/decline indices based on monthly throughput data for a sample of over 340 ports worldwide, representing over 80% of global volumes. The base point for the indices is January 2019 = 100.

Drewry has developed a nowcasting model that uses vessel capacity and terminal duration data (derived from our proprietary AIS model) to make short-term predictions of port throughput.

Drewry’s latest assessment – August 2023

• The MoM rise in Greater China volumes, alongside smaller contributions from Asia (excl. China), the Middle East and South Asia, Africa and Europe, more than offset the decrease in volumes in North America and led to a 2.4% MoM increase in the Global Container Port Throughput Index in June 2023. The index is now at 110.8 points, 1.3% below June 2022.
• Drewry’s Nowcast Model indicates that the Global Port Throughput Index will have fallen 4.3% MoM in July 2023 to 106.1 points.
• The Greater China Container Port Throughput Index surged 5.2% MoM in June 2023 to 117.6 points, representing a rise of 3.0% YoY. Shanghai and Ningbo had a good June, up 1% and 2% MoM respectively. Overall, Greater China has seen volumes for 1H23 being 3% ahead of 2022. The Pearl River Delta ports of Hong Kong and Shenzhen have continued to slide, down 15% and 6% YoY respectively for 1H23.
• The North American Container Port Throughput Index decreased slightly by 0.9% MoM in June 2023, to 101.2.Volume losses have not been confined to the strike-impacted West Coast ports, with East Coast ports of New York, Savannah, Norfolk and Montreal also showing 10-25% YoY falls for 1H23, similar in scale to those experienced at Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and Long Beach. Only the Gulf ports seem to have held up, with Houston down a mere 2% in 1H23 and New Orleans showing a 10% increase over 2022.
• The European Container Port Throughput Index increased 0.4% MoM in June 2023, rising to 100.7 points, but remained 5.1% below last year’s number. The Spanish ports of Barcelona and Valencia stand out with particularly weak numbers, as volumes at both ports were down over 10% YoY in 1H23.