Korean shipyards fall behind Chinese competition in Oct order book

[Provided by Maekyung Media Group]

South Korean shipyards fell behind Chinese competition in winning vessel orders in October and may not end the year at the top in annual order book.

According to British shipbuilding and marine industry tracker Clarkson Research on Tuesday, Korean shipbuilders bagged a combined 1.43 million CGT in new orders for 22 vessels in October, taking up second-largest 42 percent of the total global orders in 3.41 million CGT for 75 ships.

China ranked top with 1.8 million CGT orders for 32 vessels, or 53 percent of the total.

Cumulative global demand from January to October fell 28 percent to total 34.75 million CGT, of which China dominated the largest 15.81 million CGT for 570 units (46 percent) and Korea the second-largest 14.65 million CGT for 261 units (42 percent).

As of the end of October, Korean shipyards’ order backlog reached 36.75 million CGT to take up 35 percent of the total 147 million CGT. China reported an order backlog of 44.89 million CGT, or 43 percent of all.

Clarkson’s new building price index slightly fell to 161.96 last month against a month ago, putting an end to the near two-year-long growth streak since December 2020.

by Pulse