Korean shipbuilders fall behind China to global No. 2 in April

Korean shipbuilders have fallen behind China in terms of new orders for the month of April, sitting at second place globally, industry data showed Tuesday.

An LNG carrier constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries [SAMSUNG HEAVY INDUSTRIES]

Korean shipbuilders have fallen behind China in terms of new orders for the month of April, sitting at second place globally, industry data showed Tuesday.

According to global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, global shipbuilding orders in April totaled 1.85 million compensated gross tons (CGTs). It was a decrease of 44 percent compared to the previous month and of 62 percent compared to the same period last year.

Local shipyards clinched a combined 380,000 CGTs in April, accounting for 20 percent of the global total.

China took the lead with 1.41 million CGTs, or 76 percent of the global total, while Japan accounted for 60,000 CGTs, or 3 percent.

This is the first time in over five years that China has surpassed 70 percent in its market share for global shipbuilding orders for the month of April. China's April market share has gone from from 52 percent in 2019 to 65 percent in 2020, 60 percent in 2021, and 64 percent in 2022.

As for the global order backlog in April, it dropped by 380,000 CGTs to 111 million CGTs, of which China held 45 percent, or 50.08 million CGTs, Korea held 35 percent, or 38.45 million CGTs, and Japan held 9 percent, or 10.4 million CGTs.

China is continuing to increase its shipbuilding orders by focusing on container and bulk carriers. According to 2021 data, China accounted for 60.94 percent of the global order backlog for container ships, and 62.53 percent of the global order backlog for bulk carriers. Korea, on the other hand, is concentrating on the production of eco-friendly, high-value vessels like LNG carriers.

Meanwhile, shipbuilding prices are on the rise.

Clarkson's Newbuilding Price Index — a barometer of price changes in newly built ships — reached 167.32 in April, up 9.54 points from a year earlier. By vessel type, LNG carriers recorded the highest price at $256 million, followed by very large crude carriers at $122 million, and 22,000 to 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit container ships at $217.5 million.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]