South Korea’s Shipbuilding Industry Faces Headwinds as China Surges Ahead

In the first month of the new year, global ship orders were sluggish compared to last year, with Korea falling slightly short of China.

According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market research firm, the global ship order volume in January this year was 96 vessels, totaling 2.57 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage).

This is a 2% increase from the previous month (2.52 million CGT) but a 26% decrease compared to the same period last year (3.48 million CGT).

By country, Korea won an order of 970,000 CGT (32 vessels, 38%), and China won an order of 1.36 million CGT (41 vessels, 53%).

The global backlog of orders until January was 125.6 million CGT, a decrease of 1.18 million CGT from the previous month. Korea accounted for 38.69 million CGT (31%), and China accounted for 62.17 million CGT (50%).

Compared to the previous month, Korea decreased by 850,000 CGT, while China increased by 150,000 CGT. Also, compared to last year, Korea increased by 2% and China by 12%.

By shipyard, Samsung Heavy Industries’ Geoje Shipyard had the highest at 10.5 million CGT, followed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan Shipyard (9.9 million CGT) and Hanwha Ocean’s Okpo Shipyard (7.9 million CGT).

Ship prices are on the rise. At the end of January, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index showed an 18.6 (11%) increase from the same period last year, reaching 181.27.

By ship type, LNG carriers recorded $265 million, huge crude carriers (VLCC) $128 million, and ultra-large container ships (22,000~24,000 TEU) $237 million.