Hyundai Heavy remains in third among shipbuilders

Hyundai Heavy Industries, a major Korean shipbuilder, maintained its status as third-largest global player in terms of order backlog in January after being relegated to the spot the previous month, industry data showed Monday.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, another Korean shipbuilder, ranked first with 6.6 million compensated gross tons to build 99 ships, followed by Imabari Shipbuilding of Japan with 5.97 million CGTs (188 ships), and Hyundai Heavy with 5.44 million CGTs (123 ships), according to global research firm Clarkson Research Services.

Imabari Shipbuilding took on Hyundai Heavy in December last year, after rising to the third spot in November 2016 by demoting another Korean shipbuilder, Samsung Heavy Industries, to fourth.

An order backlog is a barometer of a shipbuilder’s capacity and its future growth, but local shipyards have been suffering from a sharp drop in new orders. The shipbuilding industry, once regarded as the backbone of the country’s economic growth and job creation, has been reeling from mounting losses caused by an industrywide slump and increased costs. YONHAP