Drewry: World container trade back on track

World container trade appears to be back on track after two lean years according to Drewry, with global throughput increasing by 6.6% in the first six months of 2017 across its sample of 150 ports.

The consultancy had forecast growth of 4.1% over 2017 but if trade maintains its pace for the remainder of the year, this will be the fastest growing year since 2011.

According to Drewry’s research, the increase in container handling is a result of the “resilience” of the world economy which has been highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) upgrading its global outlook for 2017 and 2018.