According to Clarksons on June 7, Chinese shipbuilders contracted 40 vessels of a cumulative 661,000 cgt in May, while South Korean yards booked 18 vessels of a combined 324,000 cgt during the same month.
However, Korean shipyards contracted around $1.048bn last month, exceeding China's $967m.
From January to May, 2012, Korean shipbuilders have contracted a cumulative of 2.84m cgt (99 vessels), $11.7bn, while Chinese shipyards have inked 2.08m cgt (142 ships), $3.6bn.
Meanwhile, during the five-month period, as for newbuilding delivery, Korea recorded 7.32m cgt (241 vessels) and China 7.61m cgt (437).
As at the end of May, China secured 38.72m-cgt orders on the book and Korea's backlog stood at 31.73m cgt but the difference between the two countries are getting smaller.