Korean Shipbuilding Industry's Order Share Last Year 24%... 1st Place China 60%

Gap with China: 18 Percentage Points in 2022 → 36 Percentage Points Last Year

The volume of ship orders in the Korean shipbuilding industry has shown a wider gap compared to China, which ranked first last year.

According to data from Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, Korea secured 10.08 million CGT (compensated gross tonnage, equivalent to 218 vessels), accounting for 24% of the global orders last year. Compared to 2022, Korea's order share dropped by 9 percentage points from 33% to 24%, and the order volume decreased by 40%.

The decline in Korea's order volume was greater than the global decrease. The total global order volume last year was 41.68 million CGT (1,723 vessels), down 19% from the previous year (51.17 million CGT).

China secured 24.93 million CGT (1,117 vessels) last year, accounting for 60% of the global cumulative order volume. The share gap between Korea and China widened from 18 percentage points in 2022 to 36 percentage points last year.

The widening gap in order volume is analyzed to be due to domestic shipbuilders focusing on profitability by selectively ordering eco-friendly, high value-added vessels. The top three shipbuilders have secured 3 to 4 years' worth of work.

The world's first methanol-powered container ship, 'Laura Musk,' built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Photo by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering

In December last year, the global ship order volume was 1.85 million CGT (77 vessels), down 24% from the previous month and 46% from the same period last year.

By country, China secured 1.46 million CGT (60 vessels, 79%), and Korea secured 0.20 million CGT (7 vessels, 11%).

As of the end of December last year, the global order backlog was 124.41 million CGT. Of this, Korea accounted for 39.3 million CGT, or 32%, and China accounted for 61.24 million CGT, or 49%.

At the end of last year, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index rose 16.5 points from the end of 2022 to 178.36. The prices by vessel type were $265 million for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, $128 million for ultra-large crude oil tankers, and $235.5 million for ultra-large container ships. These represent increases of 6.9%, 6.7%, and 9.5%, respectively, compared to the previous year.