Statistical data reported by Clarkson Research turn out to be somewhat different from official data collected by each major shipbuilding country.
According to Clarkson, a total of 763 vessels of a cumulative 31.1m dwt, 14.3m cgt and 22.8m gt were newly contracted during the first nine months of 2012. During the same time, Chinese shipbuilders inked 293 vessels of a combined 12.6m dwt, 5m cgt, 8.3m gt, while Korean shipyards signed 169 new ship orders of a cumulative 10.7m dwt, 5.2m cgt and 8.6m gt and Japanese penned 89 vessels of a combined 5.9m dwt, 1.7m cgt and 3.5m gt.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology of China (MIIT) reported that during January-September, domestic shipyards saw 15.41m dwt of new ship orders, while Japanese contracted 117-ship orders of a combined 2.66m cgt, 5.67m gt of export ships, according to Japan Ship Exporters' Association (JSEA). These figures represent 20-60% higher than Clarkson's new order statistics for the two countries.
Clarkson said in its latest monthly shipyard report that total newbuildings delivered from January to September reached 1,955 vessels of a combined 124.7m dwt, 37m cgt and 76.6m gt, of which 905 vessels of a cumulative 51.7m dwt, 15m cgt, 30.1m gt were delivered by Chinese shipyards, 389 newbuildings of a combined 41.4m dwt, 11.5m cgt, 26.9m gt from Korean and 363 vessels of a cumulative 24.2m dwt, 6.6m cgt and 14.2m gt by Japanese.
However, according to MIIT, Chinese shipbuilders delivered a total of 41.58m dwt during the same nine-month period, about 20% less than Clarkson data.
Clarkson revealed that as of the end of September, total newbuilding backlog stood at 4,760 vessels of a combined 275.2m dwt, 95.2m cgt, 181.3m gt - 1,905 vessels of a combined 116.4m dwt, 34.5m cgt, 69.6m gt on order in China, 856 vessels of a cumulative 74.7m dwt, 29.5m cgt, 57.2m gt in Korea and 759 vessels of a combined 57.4m dwt, 15.2m cgt, 33.3m gt atJapanese yards.
On the other hand, a combined orderbook of Chinese shipbuilders at the close of September, according to MIIT data, turns out to total 120.9m dwt, 4% higher than Clarkson.