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Mancalë Index · method v0.2

Taiwan Strait

Is the news about this chokepoint louder or quieter than the ships passing through it justify? Measured each week against a fixed 2019–22 normal.

Aligned

Week of 2 November 2026

Ship traffic: 229.9 ships a day, −8% against a normal of 250.5; news coverage 0.5× its normal. Gap −1.08.

Ship transits, % of the 2019–22 normal (1 week above 130% drawn at the top)

Taiwan Strait: ship transits each week from 31 Dec 2018 to 02 Nov 2026. In the latest week, 229.9 a day, −8% against normal. Lowest week: 20 Oct 2025, −39%.

News coverage, multiple of its 2019–22 normal (log scale)

Taiwan Strait: news coverage each week as a multiple of normal. Latest week: 0.5×. Loudest week: 01 Aug 2022, 47×.

Mancalë gap: attention minus flow stress

Taiwan Strait: the gap each week. Latest week: −1.08. Highest: +3.75 in the week of 01 Aug 2022. Lowest: −4.81 in the week of 20 Oct 2025.

Read with care: A very busy lane whose traffic dips around holidays and in typhoon season. The index is not seasonally adjusted, so a short dip with no news is usually seasonal.

Other chokepoints

The same reading elsewhere

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