Real-time indicator of global trade

• US 10,607,287 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2014
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kuehne + Nagel International AG (Kã¼Hne Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Kuehne + Nagel International AG (Kã¼Hne Holding AG)
• Inventors: Gernandt, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Tinkler, Muriel S
• Application Number:
  US14/273,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20150324913A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,153 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0831 Overseas transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A real-time indicator of global trade can be generated. The real-time indicator provides a comprehensive indicator of the current global economic state by tracking current values for the available capacity for freight shipments as well as the volume of actual shipments. The capacity and volume can be tracked over multiple different transportation modes including sea, air, and rail. The real-time indicator is generated in real-time based on these current values. The real-time indicator can therefore provide investors, analysts, researchers, bankers, and the like with a reliable indicator of the current global economic state that is not heavily influenced by the biasing sentiments of individuals.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a computing system that is interfaced with one or more remote source systems, for generating a real-time indicator of global trade based on a plurality of metrics that are generated from tracking information retrieved from the source systems over a period of time, the method comprising:

establishing and maintaining a first interface with one or more Automatic Identification Systems that communicate with sea vessels in real-time to obtain, from the sea vessels, sea vessel tracking information;

periodically querying the one or more Automatic Identification Systems via the first interface to retrieve current sea vessel tracking information about a plurality of sea vessels that are currently transporting sea freight, the current sea vessel tracking information including, for each of the plurality of sea vessels that are currently transporting sea freight, at least two of;

an identifier of the sea vessel, a type of the sea vessel, a position of the sea vessel, a course of the sea vessel, a speed of the sea vessel, a destination of the sea vessel, an estimated time of arrival of the sea vessel, a draft of the sea vessel and a gross tonnage of the sea vessel;

storing the current sea vessel tracking information that is retrieved over a first period of time;

extracting and calculating, from the current sea vessel tracking information sea freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, the sea freight capacity metrics including at least two of;

gross tonnage, gross tonnage kilometers, number of departures, and speed for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, but to calculate the sea freight capacity metrics;

extracting and calculating, from the current sea vessel tracking information, sea freight volume metrics representing freight volume for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, the sea freight volume metrics including at least two of;

twenty-foot units, number of shipments, shipment kilometers, and draft for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, but to calculate the sea freight volume metrics;

performing, by the computing system, one or more calculations on the sea freight capacity metrics to generate a sea freight capacity component based on the sea freight capacity metrics;

performing by the computing system, one or more calculations on the sea freight volume metrics to generate a sea freight volume component based on the sea freight volume metrics;

generating the real-time indicator of global trade as macroeconomic data that represents a current global economic state by combining, via the computing system, the sea freight capacity component and the sea freight volume component; and

transmitting, by the computing system, the real-time indicator of global trade to another computing system to thereby cause the real-time indicator to be displayed as a visual indicator that represents the current global economic state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the sea freight capacity component comprises:

generating one or more of the following factors based on the sea freight capacity metrics;

a number of departures (NOD) factor representing the number of departures of sea vessels during the first time period;

a gross tonnage (GT) factor representing the gross tonnage of each sea vessel that departed during the first time period;

a gross tonnage kilometers (GTK) based on the GT;

a GO/STOP factor representing a ratio of sea vessels in transit during the first time period to sea vessels in port or reporting zero knots during the first time period;

or

a knots (KTS) factor representing the average speed of each sea vessel that was in transit during the first time period; and

generating the sea freight capacity component by combining one or more of the factors.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the sea freight volume component comprises:

generating one or more of the following factors based on the sea freight volume metrics;

a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) factor representing a number of TEUs transported during the first time period;

a number of shipments (NOS) factor representing a number of shipments made during the first time period;

a shipment kilometers (SHK) factor representing the distance of each shipment made during the first time period;

an EXPORT/IMPORT factor representing a ratio of exports to imports during the first time period;

a NOS COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period;

or

a draft (DR) factor representing a draft of each sea vessel that departed during the first time period; and

generating the sea freight volume component by combining one or more of the factors.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing and maintaining a second interface with one or more aircraft tracking systems that communicate with aircraft in real-time to obtain, from the aircraft, aircraft tracking information;

periodically querying the one or more aircraft tracking systems via the second interface to retrieve current aircraft tracking information about a plurality of aircraft that are currently transporting air freight, the current aircraft tracking information including, for each of the plurality of aircraft, at least two of;

an identification of the aircraft, a position of the aircraft, a speed of the aircraft, a direction of the aircraft, a destination of the aircraft, a freight capacity of the aircraft and a chargeable weight of freight carried by the aircraft;

storing the current aircraft tracking information that is retrieved over the first period of time;

extracting and calculating, from the current aircraft tracking information, air freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of aircraft during the first time period, the air freight capacity metrics including at least two of;

available freight tonnage, available freight tonnage kilometers, and a number of departures;

extracting and calculating, from the current aircraft tracking information, air freight volume metrics representing freight volume of the plurality of aircraft during the first time period, the air freight volume metrics including at least two of;

a number of shipments, chargeable weight, and chargeable weight kilometers;

performing, by the computing system, one or more calculations on the air freight capacity metrics to generate an air freight capacity component based on the air freight capacity metrics; and

performing, by the computing system, one or more calculations on the air freight volume metrics to generate an air freight volume component based on the air freight volume metrics;

wherein the real-time indicator of global trade is generated by combining the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component, and the air freight volume component such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information and the current aircraft tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels or the plurality of aircraft, but to generate the real-time indicator of global trade as macroeconomic data that represents the current global economic state.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein generating the air freight capacity component comprises:

generating one or more of the following factors based on the air freight capacity metrics;

a number of cargo departures (NODcargo) factor representing the number of cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

a number of commercial departures (NODcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage (AFT) factor representing an available capacity of a number of monitored cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage kilometers (AFTK) factor based on the AFT;

a number of scheduled commercial departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial departures that are scheduled during a subsequent time period;

a number of scheduled cargo departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcargo) factor representing a number of cargo departures that are scheduled during the subsequent time period;

or

an aircraft very short term plan (VSTPaircraft) factor representing a ratio of a number of cargo departures during the first time period to a number of cargo departures that were scheduled during the first time period; and

generating the air freight capacity component by combining one or more of the factors.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein generating the air freight volume component comprises:

generating one or more of the following factors based on the air freight capacity metrics;

a chargeable weight (CW) factor representing a chargeable weight of freight on a number of monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

a chargeable weight kilometers (CWK) factor based on the CW;

a number of shipments (NOScargo) factor representing the number of shipments made by monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

or

a NOScargo COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period; and

generating the air freight volume component by combining one or more of the factors.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein combining the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component, and the air freight volume component comprises performing a weighted average of the components, wherein the sea freight capacity and volume components are weighted more heavily than the air freight capacity and volume components.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

generating, by the computing system, an economic sentiment component based on information obtained from websites of a plurality of companies indicating the companies'"'"' intentions to expand, stabilize, or restrict growth; and

wherein the real-time indicator of global trade is generated by combining the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component, the air freight volume component, and the economic sentiment component.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time period comprises a rolling time period.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the sea freight capacity component comprises:

generating each of the following factors based on the sea freight capacity metrics;

a number of departures (NOD) factor representing the number of departures of sea vessels during the first time period;

a gross tonnage (GT) factor representing the gross tonnage of each sea vessel that departed during the first time period;

a gross tonnage kilometers (GTK) based on the GT;

a GO/STOP factor representing a ratio of sea vessels in transit during the first time period to sea vessels in port or reporting zero knots during the first time period; and

a knots (KTS) factor representing the average speed of each sea vessel that was in transit during the first time period; and

generating the sea freight capacity component by combining each of the factors.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the sea freight volume component comprises:

generating each of the following factors based on the sea freight volume metrics;

a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) factor representing a number of TEUs transported during the first time period;

a number of shipments (NOS) factor representing a number of shipments made during the first time period;

a shipment kilometers (SHK) factor representing the distance of each shipment made during the first time period;

an EXPORT/IMPORT factor representing a ratio of exports to imports during the first time period;

a NOS COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period; and

a draft (DR) factor representing a draft of each vessel that departed during the first time period; and

generating the sea freight volume component by combining each of the factors.

13. The method of claim 4, wherein generating the air freight capacity component comprises:

generating each of the following factors based on the air freight capacity metrics;

a number of cargo departures (NODcargo) factor representing the number of cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

a number of commercial departures (NODcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage (AFT) factor representing an available capacity of a number of monitored cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage kilometers (AFTK) factor based on the AFT;

a number of scheduled commercial departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial departures that are scheduled during a subsequent time period;

a number of scheduled cargo departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcargo) factor representing a number of cargo departures that are scheduled during the subsequent time period; and

an aircraft very short term plan (VSTPaircraft) factor representing a ratio of a number of cargo departures during the first time period to a number of cargo departures that were scheduled during the first time period; and

generating the air freight capacity component by combining one or more of the factors.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein generating the air freight volume component comprises:

generating each of the following factors based on the air freight capacity metrics;

a chargeable weight (CW) factor representing a chargeable weight of freight on a number of monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

a chargeable weight kilometers (CWK) factor based on the CW;

a number of shipments (NOScargo) factor representing the number of shipments made by monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period; and

a NOScargo COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period; and

generating the air freight volume component by combining one or more of the factors.

8. The method of 4, further comprising:

establishing and maintaining a third interface with one or more rail tracking systems that obtain train tracking information;

periodically querying the one or more rail tracking systems via the third interface to retrieve current train tracking information about a plurality of trains that are currently transporting rail freight, the current train tracking information including for each of the plurality of trains, at least two of;

a number of cars of the train, a number of carloads of the train, and a number of intermodal units of the train;

storing the current train tracking information that is retrieved over the first period of time;

extracting and calculating, from the current train tracking information, rail freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of trains during the first time period, the rail freight capacity metrics including a number of cars and a number of departures;

extracting and calculating, from the current train tracking information, rail freight volume metrics representing freight volume for the plurality of trains during the first time period, the rail freight volume metrics including a number of carloads and a number of intermodal units;

performing, by the computing system, one or more calculations on the rail freight capacity metrics to generate a rail freight capacity component based on the rail freight capacity metrics; and

performing by the computing system, one or more calculations on the air freight volume metrics to generate a rail freight volume component based on the rail freight volume metrics;

wherein the real-time indicator of global trade is generated by combining the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component, the air freight volume component, the rail freight capacity component, and the rail freight volume component such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, the current aircraft tracking information and the current train tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, the plurality of aircraft or the plurality of trains, but to generate the real-time indicator of global trade as macroeconomic data that represents the current global economic state.

15. A method, performed by a computing system that is interfaced with remote source systems, for generating a real-time indicator of global trade based on a plurality of metrics that are generated from tracking information retrieved from the source systems over a period of time, the method comprising:

establishing and maintaining a first interface with one or more Automatic Identification Systems that communicate with sea vessels in real-time to obtain, from the sea vessels, sea vessel tracking information;

establishing and maintaining a second interface with one or more aircraft tracking systems that communicate in real-time with aircraft to obtain, from the aircraft, tracking information about the aircraft;

periodically querying the one or more Automatic Identification Systems via the first interface to retrieve current sea vessel tracking information about a plurality of sea vessels that are currently transporting sea freight, the current sea vessel tracking information including, for each of the plurality of sea vessels that are currently transporting sea freight, at least two of;

an identifier of the sea vessel, a type of the sea vessel, a position of the sea vessel, a course of the sea vessel, a speed of the sea vessel, a destination of the sea vessel, an estimated time of arrival of the sea vessel, a draft of the sea vessel and a gross tonnage of the sea vessel;

periodically querying the one or more aircraft tracking systems via the second interface to retrieve current aircraft tracking information about a plurality of aircraft that are currently transporting air freight, the current aircraft tracking information including, for each of the plurality of aircraft, at least two of;

an identification of the aircraft, a position of the aircraft, a speed of the aircraft, a direction of the aircraft, a destination of the aircraft, a freight capacity of the aircraft and a chargeable weight of freight carried by the aircraft;

storing the current sea vessel tracking information that is retrieved over a first period of time;

storing the current aircraft tracking information that is retrieved over the first period of time;

extracting and calculating, from the current sea vessel tracking information, sea freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, the sea freight capacity metrics including one or more of;

gross tonnage, gross tonnage kilometers, number of departures, or speed for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, but to calculate the sea freight capacity metrics;

extracting and calculating, from the current sea vessel tracking information, sea freight volume metrics representing freight volume for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, the sea freight volume metrics including one or more of;

twenty-foot units, number of shipments, shipment kilometers, or draft for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, but to calculate the sea freight volume metrics;

generating, by the computing system, a sea freight capacity component by generating and combining two or more of the following factors based on the sea freight capacity metrics;

a number of departures (NOD) factor representing the number of departures of sea vessels during the first time period;

a gross tonnage (GT) factor representing the gross tonnage of each sea vessel that departed during the first time period;

a gross tonnage kilometers (GTK) based on the GT;

a GO/STOP factor representing a ratio of sea vessels in transit during the first time period to vessels in port or reporting zero knots during the first time period;

or

a knots (KTS) factor representing the average speed of each sea vessel that was in transit during the first time period;

generating, by the computing system, a sea freight volume component by generating and combining two or more of the following factors based on the sea freight volume metrics;

a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) factor representing a number of TEUs transported during the first time period;

a number of shipments (NOS) factor representing a number of shipments made during the first time period;

a shipment kilometers (SHK) factor representing the distance of each shipment made during the first time period;

an EXPORT/IMPORT factor representing a ratio of exports to imports during the first time period;

a NOS COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period;

or

a draft (DR) factor representing a draft of each vessel that departed during the first time period;

extracting and calculating, from the current aircraft tracking information, air freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of aircraft during the first time period, the air freight capacity metrics including one or more of;

available freight tonnage, available freight tonnage kilometers, or a number of departures;

extracting and calculating, from the current aircraft tracking information, air freight volume metrics representing freight volume of the plurality of aircraft during the first time period, the air freight volume metrics including one or more of;

a number of shipments, chargeable weight, or chargeable weight kilometers;

generating, by the computing system, an air freight capacity component by generating and combining two or more of the following factors based on the air freight capacity metrics;

a number of cargo departures (NODcargo) factor representing the number of cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

a number of commercial departures (NODcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage (AFT) factor representing an available capacity of a number of monitored cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage kilometers (AFTK) factor based on the AFT;

a number of scheduled commercial departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial departures that are scheduled during a subsequent time period;

a number of scheduled cargo departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcargo) factor representing a number of cargo departures that are scheduled during the subsequent time period;

or

an aircraft very short term plan (VSTPaircraft) factor representing a ratio of a number of cargo departures during the first time period to a number of cargo departures that were scheduled during the first time period; and

generating, by the computing system, an air freight volume component by generating and combining two or more of the following factors based on the air freight volume metrics;

a chargeable weight (CW) factor representing a chargeable weight of freight on a number of monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

a chargeable weight kilometers (CWK) factor based on the CW;

a number of shipments (NOScargo) factor representing the number of shipments made by monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

or

a NOScargo COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period;

generating the real-time indicator of global trade as macroeconomic data that represents a current global economic state by combining, via the computing system, the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component and the air freight volume component; and

transmitting, by the computing system, the real-time indicator of global trade to another computing system to thereby cause the real-time indicator to be displayed as a visual indicator of global trade that represents the current global economic state.

16. The method of 15, further comprising:

establishing and maintaining a third interface with one or more rail tracking systems that obtain train tracking information;

periodically querying the one or more rail tracking systems via the third interface to retrieve current train tracking information about a plurality of trains that are currently transporting rail freight, the current train tracking information including for each of the plurality of trains, one or more of;

a number of cars of the train, a number of carloads of the train, or a number of intermodal units of the train;

storing the current train tracking information that is retrieved over the first period of time;

extracting and calculating, from the current train tracking information, rail freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of trains during the first time period, the rail freight capacity metrics including a number of cars and a number of departures;

extracting and calculating, from the current train tracking information, rail freight volume metrics representing freight volume for the plurality of trains during the first time period, the rail freight volume metrics including a number of carloads and a number of intermodal units;

performing, by the computing system, one or more calculations on the rail freight capacity metrics to generate a rail freight capacity component based on the rail freight capacity metrics; and

performing, by the computing system, one or more calculations on the air freight volume metrics to generate a rail freight volume component based on the rail freight volume metrics;

wherein the real-time indicator of global trade is generated by combining the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component, the air freight volume component, the rail freight capacity component, and the rail freight volume component such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, the current aircraft tracking information and the current train tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, the plurality of aircraft or the plurality of trains, but to generate the real-time indicator of global trade as macroeconomic data that represents the current global economic state.

17. A method, performed by a computing system that is interfaced with remote source systems, for generating a real-time indicator of global trade based on a plurality of metrics that are generated from tracking information retrieved from the source systems over a period of time, the method comprising:

establishing and maintaining a first interface with one or more Automatic Identification Systems that communicate with sea vessels in real-time to obtain, from the sea vessels, sea vessel tracking information;

establishing and maintaining a second interface with one or more aircraft tracking systems that communicate in real-time with aircraft to obtain, from the aircraft, tracking information about the aircraft;

periodically querying the one or more Automatic Identification Systems via the first interface to retrieve current sea vessel tracking information about a plurality of sea vessels that are currently transporting sea freight, the current sea vessel tracking information including, for each of the plurality of sea vessels that are currently transporting sea freight, at least two of;

an identifier of the sea vessel, a type of the sea vessel, a position of the sea vessel, a course of the sea vessel, a speed of the sea vessel, a destination of the sea vessel, an estimated time of arrival of the sea vessel, a draft of the sea vessel and a gross tonnage of the sea vessel;

periodically querying the one or more aircraft tracking systems via the second interface to retrieve current aircraft tracking information about a plurality of aircraft that are currently transporting air freight, the current aircraft tracking information including, for each of the plurality of aircraft, at least two of;

an identification of the aircraft, a position of the aircraft, a speed of the aircraft, a direction of the aircraft, a destination of the aircraft, a freight capacity of the aircraft and a chargeable weight of freight carried by the aircraft;

storing the current sea vessel tracking information that is retrieved over a first period of time;

storing the current aircraft tracking information that is retrieved over the first period of time;

extracting and calculating, from the current sea vessel tracking information, sea freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, the sea freight capacity metrics including gross tonnage, gross tonnage kilometers, number of departures, and speed for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, but to calculate the sea freight capacity metrics;

extracting and calculating, from the current sea vessel tracking information, sea freight volume metrics representing freight volume for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, the sea freight volume metrics including twenty-foot units, number of shipments, shipment kilometers, and draft for the plurality of sea vessels during the first time period, such that the computing system uses the current sea vessel tracking information, not to track the plurality of sea vessels, but to calculate the sea freight volume metrics;

generating, by the computing system, a sea freight capacity component by generating and combining each of the following factors based on the sea freight capacity metrics;

a number of departures (NOD) factor representing the number of departures of sea vessels during the first time period;

a gross tonnage (GT) factor representing the gross tonnage of each sea vessel that departed during the first time period;

a gross tonnage kilometers (GTK) based on the GT;

a GO/STOP factor representing a ratio of sea vessels in transit during the first time period to vessels in port or reporting zero knots during the first time period;

or

a knots (KTS) factor representing the average speed of each sea vessel that was in transit during the first time period;

generating, by the computing system, a sea freight volume component by generating and combining each of the following factors based on the sea freight volume metrics;

a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) factor representing a number of TEUs transported during the first time period;

a number of shipments (NOS) factor representing a number of shipments made during the first time period;

a shipment kilometers (SHK) factor representing the distance of each shipment made during the first time period;

an EXPORT/IMPORT factor representing a ratio of exports to imports during the first time period;

a NOS COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period; and

a draft (DR) factor representing a draft of each vessel that departed during the first time period;

extracting and calculating, from the current aircraft tracking information, air freight capacity metrics representing freight capacity of the plurality of aircraft during the first time period, the air freight capacity metrics including available freight tonnage, available freight tonnage kilometers, and a number of departures;

extracting and calculating, from the current aircraft tracking information, air freight volume metrics representing freight volume of the plurality of aircraft during the first time period, the air freight volume metrics including a number of shipments, chargeable weight, and chargeable weight kilometers;

generating, by the computing system, an air freight capacity component by generating and combining each of the following factors based on the air freight capacity metrics;

a number of cargo departures (NODcargo) factor representing the number of cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

a number of commercial departures (NODcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage (AFT) factor representing an available capacity of a number of monitored cargo aircraft that departed during the first time period;

an available freight tonnage kilometers (AFTK) factor based on the AFT;

a number of scheduled commercial departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcommercial) factor representing a number of commercial departures that are scheduled during a subsequent time period;

a number of scheduled cargo departures (NOD SCHEDULEDcargo) factor representing a number of cargo departures that are scheduled during the subsequent time period; and

an aircraft very short term plan (VSTPaircraft) factor representing a ratio of a number of cargo departures during the first time period to a number of cargo departures that were scheduled during the first time period; and

generating, by the computing system, an air freight volume component by generating and combining each of the following factors based on the air freight volume metrics;

a chargeable weight (CW) factor representing a chargeable weight of freight on a number of monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

a chargeable weight kilometers (CWK) factor based on the CW;

a number of shipments (NOScargo) factor representing the number of shipments made by monitored cargo aircraft during the first time period;

or

a NOScargo COUNTRIES factor representing a number of shipments that are exported from and imported to each of a number of countries during the first time period;

generating the real-time indicator of global trade as macroeconomic data that represents a current global economic state by combining, via the computing system, the sea freight capacity component, the sea freight volume component, the air freight capacity component and the air freight volume component; and

transmitting, by the computing system, the real-time indicator of global trade to another computing system to thereby cause the real-time indicator to be displayed as a visual indicator that represents the current global economic state.