54 vs 2! Chinese shipbuilders continue to lead, significantly outperforming South Korea

2024-06-12 09:00

Continuing the overwhelming advantage from April, Chinese shipbuilders once again "completely crushed" South Korea in the new shipbuilding orders competition in May, further widening the gap between the two sides.

According to data released by Clarkson on June 5, in May this year, global new shipbuilding orders totaled 62 vessels, 1.8 million compensated gross tons (CGT), a year-on-year decrease of 51% and a month-on-month decrease of 70% in terms of CGT. Among these, China undertook 54 vessels, 1.54 million CGT, ranking first with an 85% market share; South Korea undertook 2 vessels, 0.17 million CGT, with a market share of 10%, ranking second.

However, the South Korean industry stated that this is the result of South Korean shipbuilders adopting a selective order-taking strategy when their workload is sufficient. In terms of single vessel CGT for new ships ordered in May, South Korea's was 0.085 million CGT, far higher than China's 0.029 million CGT.

From January to May this year, the cumulative global new shipbuilding orders totaled 726 vessels, 20.12 million CGT, a year-on-year increase of 6% in terms of CGT. Among these, China undertook 479 vessels, 12.30 million CGT, a year-on-year increase of 20%, ranking first with a 61% market share; South Korea undertook 121 vessels, 5.61 million CGT, a year-on-year increase of 16%, ranking second.

In the past three years, China has continuously suppressed South Korea for three consecutive years, securing the top spot in global annual new shipbuilding orders. In 2021 and 2022, China's market share was close to 50%, ranking first, while South Korea's market share was also 38%, ranking second. In 2023, China's order volume accounted for 58.9% of the global market, while South Korea's market share sharply dropped to 24.1%.

Since the beginning of 2024, China and South Korea have once again engaged in fierce competition in the global shipbuilding market. China took the lead in the order battles in January, March, and April, only falling behind temporarily in February due to the influence of spring holidays. Particularly in April, Chinese shipbuilders' order volume reached 91 vessels, 3.58 million CGT, with a market share of 76%; South Korea only had 13 vessels, 0.67 million CGT, which was only one-fifth of China's.

As of the end of May this year, global new shipbuilding order backlog reached 133.12 million CGT, a month-on-month increase of 2.25 million CGT. Among these, China's new shipbuilding order backlog reached 67.84 million CGT, a month-on-month increase of 2.31 million CGT, and a year-on-year increase of 10.11 million CGT, continuing to firmly hold the first position with a 51% market share; South Korea's new shipbuilding order backlog was 39.07 million CGT, a month-on-month decrease of 0.02 million CGT, and a year-on-year increase of 0.14 million CGT, with a market share of 29%, ranking second.

It is worth mentioning that new shipbuilding prices continued their upward trend in May this year. At the end of May this year, Clarkson's Newbuilding Price Index was 186.42 points, an increase of 10% compared to 170.1 at the end of May last year, and a significant increase of 46% compared to 127.32 in May 2020.

In terms of vessel types, LNG carriers above 174,000 cubic meters were 264 million USD, Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) were 130 million USD, and Ultra Large Container Vessels were 267.5 million USD.

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