125 ships! Ship prices are rising! The latest monthly report on the global shipbuilding industry is out

New order signings decreased by 16 vessels month-on-month, with Chinese shipbuilders receiving the most orders and South Korea ranking second.

According to the latest data from Clarkson Research Services (as of February 9, 2024), global new orders in January 2024 totaled 125 vessels, with a total of 3,160,203 CGT. Compared to the 141 vessels with a total of 2,577,485 CGT in December 2023, the number decreased by 16 vessels month-on-month, while the corrected gross tonnage increased by 22.61%. Compared to the 271 vessels with a total of 3,584,734 CGT in January 2023, the number decreased by 146 vessels year-on-year, and the corrected gross tonnage decreased by 11.84%.

In terms of vessel types, there were 18 bulk carriers (1,985,400 DWT), 15 tankers (1,365,000 DWT), 15 chemical tankers (586,988 DWT), 18 container ships (176,028 TEU), 26 LPG carriers (2,248,000 cubic meters), 18 other vessels (265,755 CGT), and 15 offshore vessels (130,851 CGT).

In terms of order types, 4 Cape size bulk carriers, 12 Panamax bulk carriers, and 2 Supramax bulk carriers were newly signed; for tankers, 1 VLCC, 2 Suezmax tankers, 2 Aframax tankers, and 10 Handysize tankers were newly signed; for container ships, 12 Ultra-Panamax container ships, 4 Panamax container ships, and 2 Handysize container ships were newly signed.

In terms of the ordering shipyard's country, in January, global new ship orders totaled 125 vessels, with a total of 3,160,203 CGT. Chinese shipyards received 60 vessels (1,653,567 CGT), Japanese shipyards received 6 vessels (110,830 CGT), and South Korean shipyards received 41 vessels (1,254,893 CGT). The corrected gross tonnage accounted for 52.32%, 3.51%, and 39.71% of the global new ship orders, respectively.

Global backlog orders are 4581 vessels, with Chinese shipyards holding 48.97% of the global market share.

According to statistics, as of February 9, 2024, global shipyards had a backlog of 4,581 vessels, totaling 125,596,402 CGT. Compared to the 4,600 vessels totaling 126,779,332 CGT on January 8, 2024, the backlog decreased by 0.41% month-on-month, and the corrected gross tonnage decreased by 0.93%.

Among them, Chinese shipyards held 2,677 vessels (61,509,776 CGT), accounting for 58.44% of the global market share in terms of vessel numbers and 48.97% in terms of CGT; Japanese shipyards held 655 vessels (12,240,750 CGT), accounting for 14.30% of the global market share in terms of vessel numbers and 9.75% in terms of CGT; South Korean shipyards held 730 vessels (38,751,794 CGT), accounting for 15.94% of the global market share in terms of vessel numbers and 30.85% in terms of CGT.

In terms of major vessel types, the backlog orders for bulk carriers were 1,130 vessels (85,667,812 DWT), for tankers 793 vessels (50,595,765 DWT), and for container ships 807 vessels (6,670,838 TEU).

Completion volume increased by 73.28% month-on-month, with the most deliveries of bulk carriers and container ships.

In January 2024, global shipyards delivered 203 new vessels totaling 10,446,598 DWT. Compared to the 191 vessels totaling 6,028,768 DWT delivered in December 2023, the number increased by 6.28% month-on-month, and the deadweight tonnage increased by 73.28%. Compared to the 241 vessels totaling 9,759,261 DWT delivered in January 2023, the number decreased by 15.77% year-on-year, and the deadweight tonnage increased by 7.04%.

In terms of vessel types, 50 bulk carriers (4,605,659 DWT), 45 container ships (298,099 TEU), 17 tankers (1,034,980 DWT), 12 chemical tankers (345,825 DWT), 14 LPG carriers (1,205,124 cubic meters), 30 offshore vessels (61,447 DWT), and 35 other vessels (268,703 DWT) were delivered.

        New ship prices for the three major vessel types all increased.

In January, the new ship price index for bulk carriers, tankers, and container ships increased by 1 point, 2 points, and 7 points month-on-month, respectively, to 166 points, 210 points, and 112 points.

In January, except for Handysize bulk carriers (25/30 KDWT), whose new ship prices remained flat month-on-month, the new ship prices for other types of bulk carriers increased month-on-month. The new ship price for Handysize bulk carriers (25/30 KDWT) was US\$26.93 million, while the prices for Cape size bulk carriers (176/180 KDWT), Panamax bulk carriers (75/77 KDWT), and Supramax bulk carriers (61/64.5 KDWT) increased by US\$750,000, US\$250,000, and US\$250,000 month-on-month, respectively, to US\$67.75 million, US\$34.75 million, and US\$33.25 million.

For tanker newbuilding prices, except for VLCCs (315-320 KDWT) and Suezmax tankers (156-158 KDWT), whose new ship prices remained flat month-on-month, the new ship prices for other types of tankers increased month-on-month. The new ship prices for VLCCs (315-320 KDWT) and Suezmax tankers (156-158 KDWT) were US\$128 million and US\$85 million, respectively, while the prices for Aframax tankers (113-115 KDWT), Panamax tankers (73-75 KDWT), and Handysize tankers (47-51 KDWT) increased by US\$500,000 to US\$70.5 million, US\$58 million, and US\$48 million, respectively.

For container ship newbuilding prices, except for Post-Panamax container ships (2600-2900 TEU) and Handysize container ships (1850-2100 TEU), whose new ship prices remained flat month-on-month, the new ship prices for other types of container ships increased or decreased month-on-month. The prices for Ultra-Panamax container ships (22000-24000 TEU and 13000-13500 TEU) and Panamax container ships (7500-8500 TEU and 3500-4000 TEU) increased by US\$28.5 million, US\$25 million, US\$24.5 million, and US\$250,000, respectively, to US\$264 million, US\$173 million, US\$118 million, and US\$57 million, respectively. The new ship price for Handysize container ships (1000-1100 TEU) decreased by US\$250,000 month-on-month to US\$23.75 million, while the prices for Post-Panamax container ships (2600-2900 TEU) and Handysize container ships (1850-2100 TEU) were US\$41.25 million and US\$30.5 million, respectively.