China's shipbuilding sector takes over 70 pct of global orders

More than 70 percent of global shipbuilding orders are now flowing into China as the country's shipping industry has seen a robust demand for new vessels with bustling maritime trade. On Shanghai's Changxing Island, a massive container ship, measuring 336 meters in length and 51 meters in width, with a depth of 26.8 meters, is set for delivery. Its deck spans an area equivalent to three football fields. This vessel marks the sixth of its kind delivered by the shipyard this year, with more container and large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers under construction, Bastille Post Global reports.

"So far, we have delivered five high-end container ship products in the first half of the year, and we will deliver another two container ships in the second half," said Liu Xuedong, deputy general manager of Hudong-Zhonghua Changxing Shipbuilding.

The latest data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) showed that the volume of global merchandise trade turned to growth in the first quarter of 2024 after being flat for the whole year of 2023. With the global trade improving, the demand for ships is mounting.

China leads in new orders for 14 out of 18 major ship types worldwide, with container ship orders capturing a remarkable 97.5 percent of the global market share.

Industry insiders note that the demand for car shipping has been rising, although the supply of car transport vessels remains tight in the short term.

"The increase in the demand for car exports has been promoting the development of our shipbuilding industry. The entire industry is witnessing record-high order volumes," said Cai Yi, construction manager of China Merchants Heavy Industry Haimen.

In the first half of this year, China's shipbuilding completion volume reached 25.02 million deadweight tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.4 percent. New orders amounted to 54.22 million deadweight tons, up 43.9 percent, while the order backlog stood at 171.55 million deadweight tons, growing by 38.6 percent.

With all those three key indicators of the shipbuilding industry rising, China remains at the forefront globally.

"The increase in high-end ship exports is a notable trend. Customs data showed that the high value-added ships, such as large liquefied natural gas ships, liquefied petroleum gas ships, large container ships and ro-ro ships dedicated to automobile transportation, have increased by nearly 90 percent in the first seven months of this year, contributing more than 60 percent to the overall growth of the ship sales," said Li Jirong, deputy director of the Department of Statistics and Analysis, Shanghai Customs.