Korean shipbuilders hold on to No. 1 spot for new orders

Korean shipbuilders far outstripped their Chinese rivals in terms of new orders in August, retaining their top spot for the fourth straight month, industry data showed Tuesday.

Local shipbuilders led by Hyundai Heavy Industries won a combined 780,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders last month, taking up 57 percent of 1.37 million CGTs of global orders, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service.

Chinese shipbuilders obtained 370,000 CGTs in new orders, accounting for 27 percent of the total, with Japanese shipbuilders winning 190,000 CGTs.

In the January-August period, new shipbuilding orders around the globe came to 32.39 million CGTs, sharply up from 12.21 million CGTs a year ago.

Chinese shipbuilders ranked first with new orders amounting to 14.53 million CGTs during the cited period, representing 45 percent of the total.

The Chinese shipbuilders were trailed by Korean rivals with 13.66 million CGTs, taking up 42 percent of the total.

Global order backlogs amounted to 84.68 million CGTs at the end of August.

Korea's order backlog stood at 28.33 million CGTs, with China's coming to 32.59 million CGTs and Japan's 9.56 million CGTs.

Clarkson's Newbuilding Price Index, indicating price changes in newly built ships, rose to 145.8 in August, up two points from the previous month.

Yonhap