China newbuilding orders in January-February period spike 133% 

Newbuilding orders at Chinese shipyards have risen strongly over the first two months of this year compared to the year-ago period, while orderbook on hand has shrunk.

From January to February 2017, China’s shipbuilders booked 2.21m dwt of new vessel tonnage, a surge of 133% compared to the same period of 2016, according to data from China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi).

The shipbuilders’ order backlog as at end-February 2017 stood at 92.07m dwt, shrinking by 22.6% on a year-on-year comparison and down 7.6% from end-2016, Cansi figures showed.

In completed tonnage, Chinese yards built a total of 9.36m dwt of vessel capacity during the two-month period, representing a spike of 123% year-on-year.

Cansi figures further showed that the country’s 53 leading shipyards controlled more than 90% of the shipbuilding market share with their newbuilding orders amounting to 1.97m dwt, orderbook on hand of 88.74m dwt and completed tonnage at 9.12m dwt over the first two months.

The shipbuilding association also monitors 80 main yards which registered a combined completed newbuild value of RMB49.05bn ($7.1m), a decrease of 11.2% from the year-ago period.

Of the total value, shipbuilding accounted for RMB22.5bn, equipment amounted to RMB3.04bn and repairs took up RMB1.79bn.

The 80 main yards generated a combined revenue of RMB30.07bn from January to February 2017, a decline of 21.2% year-on-year, and a profit of RMB120m, down 30%.

Cansi has adjusted down the number of main yards that it monitors to 80 since the start of this year from 94 in 2016. In the past few years, the Chinese market has witnessed a consolidation of yards under state-owned enterprises and the downfall of several privately-owned shipyards, including those that were once highly successful such as Rongsheng Heavy Industries, Sinopacific Shipbuilding and Mingde Heavy Industry.