Reclaiming the top spot globally! China's shipbuilding orders surpass South Korea's in August

After three consecutive months of being suppressed by South Korea, China's shipbuilding industry finally fought back, surpassing South Korea in August with a 54% market share in order intake and once again exceeding South Korea in backlog to rank first in the world.

According to the latest data released by Clarkson on September 6, in August this year, the global new ship order volume was 51 vessels with 1.88 million corrected gross tons (CGT). Among them, China undertook 35 vessels with 1.02 million CGT, achieving a market share of 54% and ranking first; South Korea undertook 12 vessels with 760,000 CGT, with a market share of 41%, ranking second; and Japan undertook 2 vessels with 50,000 CGT, with a market share of 2%, ranking third.

From January to August this year, the cumulative global new ship order volume reached 27.68 million CGT. Among them, China undertook 475 vessels with 12.35 million CGT, achieving a market share of 45% and ranking first; South Korea undertook 216 vessels with 11.92 million CGT, with a market share of 43%, ranking second; and Japan undertook 77 vessels with 1.95 million CGT, with a market share of 7%, ranking third.

South Korean industry insiders said that the main ship type of South Korea's shipbuilding industry, large LNG carriers of 140,000 cubic meters or more, continued to show a good order intake momentum in August, taking all eight LNG carrier orders. However, due to a decrease in orders for other ship types, the order intake was reversed by China.

Data shows that from January to August this year, a cumulative total of 111 LNG carriers were ordered globally. Among them, South Korea undertook 83 vessels, accounting for 75%. South Korean shipbuilders continue to maintain a strong order intake momentum for high value-added vessels.

As of the end of August this year, the global order backlog increased by 30,000 CGT compared to the end of July, reaching 127.6 million CGT. From a national perspective, China accounted for 43.62 million CGT, with a market share of 42%, continuing to rank first; South Korea accounted for 35.97 million CGT, with a market share of 35%, closely following behind. South Korea's order backlog increased by 290,000 CGT, or 1%, compared to the end of July; China's order backlog decreased by 40,000 CGT, or 0.1%, compared to the end of July. Compared with the same period last year, South Korea's order backlog increased by 7.45 million CGT, an increase of 26%; China's order backlog increased by 4.62 million CGT, an increase of 12%.

At the same time, newbuilding prices have been on an upward trend for 21 consecutive months since December 2020. In August this year, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index reached 161.81 points, an increase of 0.24 percentage points from July. In terms of ship types, the price of a 174,000 cubic meter LNG carrier rose from US\$236 million to US\$240 million, the price of a very large crude carrier (VLCC) rose from US\$119 million to US\$120 million, and the price of a bulk carrier rose from US\$64 million to US\$64.5 million.

Since the beginning of this year, the competition for orders between China and South Korea's shipbuilding industries has been very fierce. In January, China undertook new ship orders of 1.47 million CGT, with a market share of 48%, while South Korea undertook 1.38 million CGT, with a market share of 45%, with China taking the lead by a slight margin of 3%. In February, South Korea undertook new ship orders of 860,000 CGT, with a market share of 67%, while China undertook 340,000 CGT, with a market share of 26%, with South Korea winning back the lead with an absolute advantage of 41%. In March, South Korea undertook new ship orders of 233 CGT, with a market share of 48%, while China undertook 204.5 CGT, with a market share of 42%, with South Korea maintaining its lead over China by 6%. In April, China undertook new ship orders of 1.54 million CGT, with a market share of 61.35%, ranking first globally; South Korea undertook 820,000 CGT, with a market share of 32.67%, ranking second. In May, South Korea undertook new ship orders of 1.2 million CGT, with a market share of approximately 48%, ranking first; China undertook 840,000 CGT, with a market share of approximately 34%, ranking second. In June, South Korea undertook new ship orders of 2.56 million CGT, with a market share of 62%, continuing to rank first; China undertook 50 vessels with 1.1 million CGT, with a market share of 27%, ranking second. In July, South Korea undertook new ship orders of 1.16 million CGT, with a market share of 55%, continuing to rank first; China undertook 620,000 CGT, with a market share of 30%, ranking second.

South Korean industry insiders said that South Korean shipbuilders have proactively slowed down their order intake, resulting in being overtaken by China. However, this is because South Korean shipbuilders are currently focusing on high value-added vessels, mainly LNG carriers. Having secured a stable workload, profitability is more important than the number of orders. (Wang Chu)