Korean shipbuilders register losses to Chinese counterparts in May

Official data revealed Chinese shipbuilders outperformed their South Korean counterparts in terms of global orders last May.

Official statistics revealed that local shipyards received new orders totalling 510 thousand gross tons of compensation last month, representing 25 per cent of the world’s demand of 2.06 million gross compensatory tons.

Last month’s global total of 79 ships was 36 per cent lower than the same month last year. China’s shipyards outperformed its Korean counterparts, securing orders of 1.41 million gross compensatory tons or 68 per cent of the total.

Last month, Korean companies received requests to build 17 vessels against 52 vessels for Chinese companies. Data also showed that the backlog of global orders reached 111.3 million gross compensatory tons by the end of May, a decline of 190 thousand gross compensatory tons compared to the previous month.

Korea’s backlog amounted to 39.1 million gross compensation tons, or 35 per cent of the total, while China’s applications amounted to 51.3 million gross compensation tons of 45 per cent.

The Clarkson Price Index of newly produced vessels, a measure of price changes in newly produced vessels, reached 170.1 points in May, up 10.03 points compared to the previous year.