Shipbuilding Competitivenss Slipping Away from S. Korea

Korean shipbuilders have dominated the global market, raking in many billions of dollars to help fuel growth in the country, but now a severe slump in the industry is making them a major cause for woes of the economy., reports Arirang News.

The shipbuilding industry has been a major locomotive of Korea's export-led economy, accounting for about a tenth of the nation's exports for many years.

Korea's vessel exports which set a record-high in 2011, fell by a third in the first five months of this year from the same 2012 period after a 30 percent fall for all of last year. 
A more serious problem is that the industry's mid- and long-term competitiveness is waning.
 Although Korean shipbuilders still dominate in gas carriers and other advanced ships, experts say they're losing their price competitiveness to China for vessels like tankers and bulk carriers.


Source: Arirang News