In advance of SMM 2012, the leading trade fair for the maritime industries, to be held at the Hamburg Fair site from September 4-7, the duel in international shipbuilding is going into the next round – the Chinese shipyards were just ahead again in 2011.
According to the latest survey by Clarkson Research, China delivered a total of 1,177 ships with 67.2 million DWT. The closest competitor was South Korea, which had 531 ships and 53.6 DWT, followed by Japan, in third position (462 ships, 32 million DWT).
The three major shipbuilding nations from Asia are prominent exhibitors at SMM 2012, the shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology international trade fair Hamburg, from September 4-7.
“The growing attendance of Asian exhibitors demonstrates the dynamic in this part of the world and is a clear indicator of the importance of SMM as the world’s leading maritime trade fair,” says Peter Bergleiter, Head of Division at Hamburg Messe & Congress GmbH (HMC).
Alongside numerous companies from China, the two most important shipyards CSIC and CSSC will also be there. Other exhibitors include the Korean shipbuilders’ association KOSHIPA, some important Japanese shipyards, and also the Japanese Marine Equipment Suppliers Association JSMEA.
China has held top position in shipbuilding since 2010, but another change in the market conditions emerged at the beginning of 2012 – China delivered 105 ships, more than twice as many as South Korea (50 ships) and also more tonnage, at 8.4 million DWT (versus 5 million DWT for South Korea). But China lagged behind in terms of new orders. According to Clarkson’s figures in January, 2012, each of the countries received orders for nine new buildings, but the tonnage for South Korea was more than six times as high as for China (1.7 million DWT versus 260,000 DWT).
China is still in front in terms of the order book – on reference date 1 February, China had 2,386 ships in the order book, with 149,1 million DWT, which was still well ahead of South Korea (1,103 ships, 106.6 million DWT) and Japan (684 ships, 52.7 million DWT). The current global order book stands at 5,623 ships, which is 2,253 fewer than at the end of 2010. Last year, a total of 2,599 ships were delivered, and new orders were received for 1,253 ships – 365 of these were bulkers and 226 container ships. Deliveries in 2011 were also dominated by bulkers at 1,173 ships, followed by tankers (362) and container ships (190).