Passed in the Night
Although there was the largest number of new orders in the global shipbuilding market last month, South Korean shipbuilders were outpaced by Chinese and Japanese rivals in terms of new orders in the third quarter of the year, according to industry data.
According to data compiled by global researcher Clarkson Research Services on Oct. 5, the total number of global shipbuilding orders last month stood at 4.14 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), or 132 ships, which is 2.8 CGTs, or 80 ships, more than the figure in Aug. Among them, China and Japanese shipyards bagged more than 30 percent, while Korean companies bagged some 20 percent. China had the largest order backlog, totaling 1.49 million CGTs, or 35.9 percent, trailed by Japan with 1.38 million CGTs, or 33.2 percent, and South Korea with 1.07 million CGTs, or 25.8 percent.
With its ability to build higher value-added ships, South Korea retained its status as the world’s leading shipbuilding country in terms of new orders on a monthly basis between Feb. and June this year, despite the recession in the global shipbuilding industry. However, it was relegated to second place in July, being surpassed by China, due to unfavorable factors, including offshore plants. Also, the country has shown poor performance for three months in a row. In terms of the total market share in the third quarter, China ranked first with 39.5 percent or 3.48 million CGTs, followed by Japan with 26.9 percent or 2.36 million CGTs, and Korea with 23.9 percent or 2.11 million CGTs.
China's good results are largely due to orders from Chinese shipping companies. In fact, China COSCO Holdings Co., one of the nation's largest shipping companies, ordered a total of 11 large container ships – five 20,000 TEU container ships and six 19,150 TEU ships – last month. Among them, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. won the orders for three 20,000 TEU container ships, while Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. received orders for two 20,000 TEU container ships.
Also, Sino-Japanese joint shipbuilding companies in China swept orders for six 19,150 TEU ships. The size of the 11 large container ships are a total of 810,000 CGTs. The figure accounts for 54 percent of the total orders that China received last month.
In the first nine months of the year, South Korean shipbuilders secured new shipbuilding orders totaling 8.77 million CGTs, followed by China with 6.33 million, and Japan with 5.99 million.