Japanese shipyard June orders up 3%
New ship construction orders at Japanese yards rose more than 3 per cent in June versus the previous month, but a lack of dockyard capacity continues to cap orders.
Space crunch: Workers inspect the hull of a section of a ship at Mitsui's shipyard in Chiba. Japanese yards are backed up for at least the next 3 years.
In June, a total of 1.257 million gross tonnes or 33 new vessels were put on order with Japanese shipbuilders, up 46,082 gross tonnes from the previous month, data from the Japan Ship Centre showed.
June's orders were 18.3 per cent lower when compared to the same period in 2006. Contracts for the combined orders were about US$1.17 billion, data from the Japan Ship Centre showed.
A total of 12 vessels were paid for in US dollar cash payments, while the remaining 21 were paid for in Japanese yen.
Analysts said that the lacklustre Japanese order book continues to reflect capacity constraints at Japanese yards.
'Japanese yards are backed up for the next 3 years at least, with only few open slots seen in 2011, and 2012,' a Hong Kong-based shipping analyst with a US bank said. All ships placed on order were for export.
Around 40 per cent were bulk carriers, which are in hot demand to move raw materials and commodities such as coal, iron ore and grains.
Space crunch: Workers inspect the hull of a section of a ship at Mitsui's shipyard in Chiba. Japanese yards are backed up for at least the next 3 years.
In June, a total of 1.257 million gross tonnes or 33 new vessels were put on order with Japanese shipbuilders, up 46,082 gross tonnes from the previous month, data from the Japan Ship Centre showed.
June's orders were 18.3 per cent lower when compared to the same period in 2006. Contracts for the combined orders were about US$1.17 billion, data from the Japan Ship Centre showed.
A total of 12 vessels were paid for in US dollar cash payments, while the remaining 21 were paid for in Japanese yen.
Analysts said that the lacklustre Japanese order book continues to reflect capacity constraints at Japanese yards.
'Japanese yards are backed up for the next 3 years at least, with only few open slots seen in 2011, and 2012,' a Hong Kong-based shipping analyst with a US bank said. All ships placed on order were for export.
Around 40 per cent were bulk carriers, which are in hot demand to move raw materials and commodities such as coal, iron ore and grains.