While newbuilding investment has sharply declined this year, the largest amount of tonnage has been delivered and the global orderbook has diminished by almost 20%, during the first five months.
According to Clarkson Research, the orderbook, as of the end of May 2012, stood at a combined 311.6m dwt (5,253 vessels), down by 19% on the end of 2011. 
Even though the bulker orderbook accounts for the majority of newbuildings on order (57%), the bulker backlog has reduced by 22% during the first five months this year. Particularly, capesize sector has seen its orderbook drop by 28%, as 115 vessel have been delivered but only 11 newly ordered.
Just MR product carrier, LNG/LPG carriers have seen an increase in the size of their orderbooks during January-May. The LPG and LNG backlogs has grown by 45% and 24%, respectively, during the same period.
In May, 12.8m dwt (160 vessels) were delivered, bringing the total delivery, from January to May, to a cumulative 72.5m dwt (1,044). In the first five months of 2012, bulker deliveries represent 65% (47.1m dwt), which compares to 61% in the whole 2011 and 53% in 2010. This already exceeds newbuildings delivered in the whole 2009, 43.1m dwt.
During the first five months, China and Korea have delivered 28.1m dwt and 26.3m dwt, up by 4.4% and 8% each on the same period last year, while Japan's newbuilding delivery declined by 9.8% to 13.8m dwt.
Meanwhile, a total of 5.5m dwt (115 vessels) were scrapped in May, the largest amount of tonnage scrapped in a single month since May 2003. Overall 2.3m dwt (33) were sent for demolition at Bangladeshi scrap yards, the highest record ever.