Winning the order battle, China is number one! South Korea disagrees: The dock is full, no more orders.

The battle for global new ship orders in 2022 has entered its final stage. In November, China won the monthly global order champion title with a 17 percentage point advantage over South Korea, and is expected to win the crown of the world's top shipbuilder in 2022.

According to the latest data released by Clarkson on December 6, the global new ship order volume in November was 2.86 million corrected gross tons (CGT) and 81 ships, a month-on-month decrease of 27% and a year-on-year increase of 9%. Among them, China received 1.56 million CGT and 46 ships, with a market share of 55%, ranking first globally; South Korea received 1.08 million CGT and 18 ships, with a market share of 38%, ranking second.

From January to November this year, the cumulative global new ship order volume reached 39.11 million CGT, a decrease of 23% compared to 51.02 million CGT in the same period last year. Among them, China received 18.48 million CGT, with a market share of 47%, ranking first; South Korea received 15.75 million CGT, with a market share of 40%, ranking second. Compared to 46% at the end of October, China's market share increased by more than 1 percentage point, while South Korea's market share decreased by 2 percentage points. Currently, the absolute gap in new ship orders between China and South Korea this year has reached 2.73 million CGT. With only one month left in the year, it is difficult for the South Korean shipbuilding industry to make up for this huge gap, so winning the global order champion this year is basically a certainty.

Clarkson data shows that from January to November 2022, 212 shipyards worldwide received new ship orders, with a total of 1,387 ships and 75,134,000 deadweight tons signed. In terms of deadweight tonnage, this represents a year-on-year decrease of 45.8%. In terms of specific ship types, 334 container ships, 286 bulk carriers, 164 LNG carriers, 131 tankers, 35 LPG carriers, and 437 other types of ships were newly signed.

As of the end of November this year, the global backlog of new ship orders was 107.19 million CGT, an increase of 880,000 CGT compared to the end of October. Among them, China accounted for 46.99 million CGT, with a market share of 44%; South Korea accounted for 37.42 million CGT, with a market share of 35%.

As of the end of November this year, Clarkson's Newbuilding Price Index was 161.69, up 8.07 points year-on-year. In terms of ship types, a 174,000 cubic meter LNG carrier costs $248 million, unchanged from the end of October; very large crude carriers (VLCCs) also remain at $120 million; and ultra-large container ships are priced at $215 million, unchanged from the end of October.

A South Korean industry insider said that in the competition for global new ship orders, the market share of Chinese shipbuilding companies has been continuously increasing, and has ranked first in the order list for two consecutive months. This is because after South Korean shipbuilding companies have exceeded their order targets for this year, they have met the demand for the next three years, and the scarcity of dock resources has led to the opportunity to receive orders for large-scale, environmentally friendly, high-value-added ships such as LNG carriers being seized by Chinese shipbuilding companies.

The insider also said that in the first 11 months of this year, although the difference in the order market share between South Korea and China was 7 percentage points, considering the even greater difference in the number of ships ordered, it can be said that South Korean shipbuilding companies have received more high-value-added ships such as LNG carriers. From January to November this year, China received 616 new ship orders, while South Korea only received 279, only 45% of China's. This confirms that South Korean shipbuilders are changing their business strategies, focusing more on the quality of orders than on the quantity.

According to Clarkson's statistics, in the first 11 months of 2022, South Korea topped the new ship order volume six times, while China won five times. South Korea won the monthly order champion in February, March, May, June, July, and September; China won the monthly order champion in January, April, August, October, and November.

Clarkson data shows that in 2021, the global new ship order volume was 1,846 ships and 45.73 million corrected gross tons (CGT). Among them, China received 965 ships and 22.8 million CGT, maintaining its world's first position with a market share of nearly 50%; South Korea received 403 ships and 17.35 million CGT, ranking second in the world with a market share of 38%.