According to the latest data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), China's shipbuilders issued new vessel orders totalling about 15 million dead weight tons (dwt) over January-August, or down 4.5 percent on the year, according to the latest data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), there was a small improvement from the 4.8 percent on-year decline for the first seven months.

Among the total, about 13.6 million dwt or 91 percent were for exports, which dropped by 6.6 percent year-on-year, which, according to CANSI data, was also lower than the 7.7 percent year-on-year decline over January-July.

Statistics show that in the first eight months, China finished constructing vessels totalling 24.1 million dwt, down 7.1 percent year-on-year, and the value was much higher than the new orders.

The Chinese shipbuilders kept a backlog of 72.6 million dwt by the end of August, down 8.2 percent year-on-year or 11.6 percent lower than that by the end of 2019.

“Ship owners have not been booking new ships much because of the very unclear future for the shipping industry, and ordering a new vessel is more expensive than buying a second-hand carrier, and the potential gains from chartering a new ship will not justify the price difference for now,” the Shanghai market source stated.

Japan, another top shipbuilding nation, faced similar difficulties as its new vessel orders posted an on-year decline by July for the sixth consecutive month, down 15.4 percent year-on-year to 469,750 gross tons or eight vessels, and a backlog of 14.31 million gross tons, down 37.2 percent year-on-year, as announced, at the lowest level since mid-1990.

Maritime Business World