In July, the South Korean shipbuilding industry's order intake surpassed that of the Chinese shipbuilding industry for the first time this year in terms of market shares, according to BusinessKorea.
Global shipbuilding orders totaled 2.37 million CGT in July, down 46 percent from 4.41 million CGT in the same period a year earlier, according to Clarkson Research, a British shipbuilding and shipping analytics firm.
By country, South Korea topped the list with 960,000 CGT with a 40 percent share. China came in second with 570,000 CGT and a 24 percent share. China held the top spot from January through June of this year, but lost it to South Korea in July.
Through July this year, the world's cumulative shipbuilding orders stood at 35.59 million CGT (1,234 ships). Of this, South Korea accounted for 8.11 million CGT (176 ships), a 23 percent share. China's share is 22.54 million CGT, a 63 percent share (823 ships).
As of July, the global order balance stood at 141.65 million CGT. South Korea accounted for 38.93 million CGT (27 percent), up by 690,000 CGT month on month, and China 75.52 million CGT (53 percent), up by 4.95 million CGT.
In July, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index rose 9 percent year on year to 187.98. It is an index of global shipbuilding prices with shipbuilding prices of 1988 set at 100. By vessel type, shipbuilding prices are US$262.5 million for an LNG carrier; US$129 million for a very large crude carrier (VLCC); and US$272 million for a very large container ship which is 22,000 to 24,000 TEU.