China’s shipyards saw newbuilding orders rise 18.7% year-on-year in the first eight months of this year amidst the industry slump, according to figures from China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi).
New shipbuilding orders were recorded at 17.87m dwt from January to August this year, an increase of 18.7% compared to the same period of 2015.
In completed tonnage, Chinese shipbuilders produced 22.15m dwt of vessel capacity in the first eight months of 2016, a decrease of 12.5% compared to the year-ago level, Cansi data showed.
The orderbook as at end-August 2016 stood at 114.21m dwt, down 15.5% year-on-year and down 7.2% compared to end-2015.
Cansi also monitored 51 leading Chinese shipyards, revealing that they received 16.69m dwt of new orders in the first eight months, up 22.1% compared to the previous corresponding period.
The 51 leading yards completed vessel tonnage of 20.52m dwt during the eight-month period, a drop of 12.3% year-on-year, with a combined order backlog of 109.9m dwt as at end-August 2016.
Cansi further looked at 94 main Chinese yards which registered a completed shipbuilding value of RMB280bn ($42bn) in the first eight months, a decline of 2.3% from year-ago level. Among the total completed value, shipbuilding accounted for RMB130bn, equipment took up RMB19bn and repair logged RMB7.8bn.
The 94 main yards recorded a combined revenue of RMB190bn from January to August 2016, down 3.6% year-on-year, and a profit of RMB2.83bn, falling 24.4%.
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