The Korean shipbuilding industry’s order share fell to just 2 percent in August due to selective orders, according to a new report.

According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market analyst on Sept. 5, global ship orders totaled 3.87 million CGT (106 ships) in August, up 27 percent from the same month of 2023.

China topped the order-taking standings with 3.47 million CGT (95 ships), a 90 percent share, followed by Korea with 80,000 CGT (4 ships), a 2 percent share.

This was due to the saturation of dock space with an order backlog which will give more than three years of work which forced Korean shipbuilders to selectively order more lucrative vessels.

Korea’s shipbuilding industry has been losing ground to the Chinese shipbuilding industry in terms of month-by-month order shares since the beginning of this year, taking the top spot with a 40 percent share in July but lost the lead to the Chinese shipbuilding industry again after one month.

Total global orders reached 40.207 million CGT (1,454 ships) in the January-August period of this year, up 30 percent year on year (32.232 million CGT or 1,436 ships). Of these, China accounted for 28.22 million CGT (1,15 vessels or a 67 percent share) and South Korea 8.22 million CGT (181 vessels or a 20 percent share), up 53 percent and 14 percent respectively from the same period of 2023.

In August, the global order backlog stood at 143.78 million CGT, down by 690,000 CGT from the previous month. By country, China accounted for 77.15 million CGT (54 percent) and Korea 39.02 million CGT (27 percent). Compared to August, China posted a drop of 920,000 CGT, while Korea a jump of 50,000 CGT.

In August, the Clarkson Newbuilding Index stood at 189.2 points, up 9 percent from the same month of last year and extending a 45-month rally since November 2020.

Source : Businesskorea