Latest Global Shipbuilding Industry Monthly Report Released

New orders increased by 48.59% month-on-month

According to the latest data from Clarkson (as of January 5, 2020), 97 new orders were placed globally in December 2019, totaling 3,073,557 CGT. Compared to 67 new orders totaling 2,068,419 CGT in November 2019, the number increased by 30, and the corrected gross tonnage increased by 48.59% month-on-month. Compared to 120 new orders totaling 2,946,719 CGT in December 2018, the number decreased by 23 year-on-year, and the corrected gross tonnage increased by 4.30% year-on-year.

In terms of ship types, there were 20 bulk carriers totaling 2,227,800 DWT; 18 tankers totaling 3,578,400 DWT; 2 chemical tankers totaling 27,600 DWT; 11 container ships totaling 79,500 TEU; 20 LPG carriers totaling 2,430,600 cubic meters; 15 offshore vessels totaling 257,364 CGT; and 11 other vessels totaling 257,467 CGT. In terms of order types, 6 Capesize bulk carriers, 10 Panamax bulk carriers, and 4 Handysize bulk carriers were newly ordered; 9 VLCCs, 5 Suezmax tankers, 2 Handysize tankers, and 2 small tankers were newly ordered; 6 ultra-Panamax container ships, 4 Handysize container ships, and 1 feeder container ship were newly ordered. In December, 97 new ships were ordered globally, totaling 3,073,557 CGT, including 44 from China (1,068,952 CGT), 10 from Japan (196,790 CGT), and 34 from South Korea (1,741,174 CGT). The corrected gross tonnage accounted for 34.78%, 6.40%, and 56.65% of the global new ship orders, respectively.

In 2019, global new ship orders totaled 1,151 ships with a total of 64,402,021 DWT. Compared to 1,847 new orders totaling 93,651,496 DWT in 2018, the number of ships and DWT decreased by 37.68% and 31.23% year-on-year, respectively. In terms of ship types, there were 251 bulk carriers totaling 24,565,562 DWT; 135 tankers totaling 19,826,556 DWT; 101 chemical tankers totaling 2,845,832 DWT; 77 container ships totaling 761,880 TEU; 118 LPG carriers totaling 12,102,620 cubic meters; 220 offshore vessels totaling 1,005,277 CGT; and 249 other vessels totaling 5,099,330 CGT. In terms of countries, China placed 386 new orders totaling 8,350,999 CGT; Japan placed 232 new orders totaling 3,354,643 CGT; South Korea placed 212 new orders totaling 9,427,098 CGT; the corrected gross tonnage accounted for 32.82%, 13.18%, and 37.05% of the global new ship orders, respectively.

Global order backlog decreased by 1.35% month-on-month to 2993 vessels

Clarkson data shows that as of January 5, 2020, global shipyards had an order backlog of 2,993 vessels totaling 75,830,832 CGT. Compared to 3,034 vessels totaling 76,186,015 CGT as of December 15, 2019, the order backlog decreased by 1.35% month-on-month, and the corrected gross tonnage decreased by 0.47% month-on-month.

Among them, Chinese shipyards had an order backlog of 1,487 vessels totaling 27,453,225 CGT, accounting for 49.68% of the global market share in terms of vessels and 36.20% in terms of CGT; South Korean shipyards had an order backlog of 474 vessels totaling 22,537,361 CGT, accounting for 15.84% of the global market share in terms of vessels and 29.72% in terms of CGT; Japanese shipyards had an order backlog of 674 vessels totaling 11,990,453 CGT, accounting for 22.52% of the global market share in terms of vessels and 15.81% in terms of CGT.

In terms of major ship types, the order backlog for bulk carriers was 853 vessels totaling 86,432,939 DWT; the order backlog for tankers was 622 vessels totaling 51,282,041 DWT; and the order backlog for container ships was 364 vessels totaling 2,437,323 TEU.

        Completion decreased by 37.12% month-on-month

Clarkson data shows that in December 2019, global shipyards delivered 81 new vessels totaling 4,678,630 DWT. Compared to 125 new vessel deliveries totaling 7,440,609 DWT in November 2019, the number decreased by 35.20% month-on-month, and the DWT decreased by 37.12% month-on-month. Compared to 149 new vessels delivered by global shipyards totaling 3,338,103 DWT in December 2018, the number decreased by 45.64% year-on-year, and the DWT increased by 40.16% year-on-year.

In terms of ship types, 22 bulk carriers were delivered, totaling 2,530,821 DWT; 5 container ships were delivered, totaling 42,574 TEU; 8 tankers were delivered, totaling 961,164 DWT; 6 chemical tankers were delivered, totaling 96,044 DWT; 3 LPG carriers were delivered, totaling 197,335 cubic meters; 19 offshore vessels were delivered, totaling 425,127 DWT; and 18 other vessels were delivered, totaling 117,445 DWT.

In 2019, global shipyards delivered a total of 2,074 new vessels, totaling 98,991,811 DWT. Compared to 1,937 new vessel deliveries totaling 80,976,615 DWT in 2018, the number increased by 7.07% year-on-year, and the DWT increased by 22.25% year-on-year.

Container ship prices fell, while bulk carrier and tanker prices remained flat

Clarkson data shows that in December, the newbuilding price index for bulk carriers and tankers remained flat compared to the previous month, at 128 and 154 points respectively, while the newbuilding price index for container ships fell by 1 point to 79 points.

In December, the newbuilding prices for all types of bulk carriers remained flat compared to November. The newbuilding prices for Capesize bulk carriers (176/180 KDWT), Panamax bulk carriers (75/77 KDWT), large Handysize bulk carriers (61/63 KDWT), and Handysize bulk carriers (25/30 KDWT) were US\$49.5 million, US\$27 million, US\$25.5 million, and US\$21.1 million, respectively;

For tanker newbuildings, except for Handysize tankers, which saw a month-on-month decrease, the newbuilding prices for other types of tankers remained flat compared to the previous month. The newbuilding prices for VLCCs (315-320 KDWT), Suezmax tankers (156-158 KDWT), Aframax tankers (113-115 KDWT), and Panamax tankers (73-75 KDWT) were US\$92 million, US\$61.5 million, US\$48.5 million, and US\$44.5 million, respectively. The newbuilding price for Handysize tankers (47-51 KDWT) decreased by US\$250,000 month-on-month to US\$35.75 million.