With year end coming, the domestic shipbuilding market gladly witness an upturn in new orders. However, the ship price has remained weak recently. The recovery of the whole shipbuilding industry seems out of reach now.
According to China Newbuilding Price Index Co., Ltd, Chinese shipyard won new orders for 153 vessels in November, increasing by 94 units compared with October. However, the Newbuidling Price Index fell by 0.12% to 857 points in the first half of December, demonstrating the weakness of ship price.
Since this December, bulker newbuilding market has decreased slightly month on month for most buyers choose to sit on the fence as the year to end. COSCO Guangdong has recently secured an order for two Handyasizes from a European owner and Jingjiang Nanyang Shipbuilding inked six 6,000dwt bulkers from Ukraine KDM Shipping.
Tanker market is more active comparatively. CSIC placed a newbuilding order for 2+2 308,000dwt VLCCs at COSCO Shipyard after CSSC and COSCO’s cooperation. The tanker market benefits from the policy that domestic shipyards build domestic vessels in the period.
UBS analyst Sun Xu estimates that 2013 will be another tough year for shipbuilding and real recovery is hopeful in 2015. Affected by declining steel rates and low industry capacity utilization, the newbuilding price is likely to fall further. The new orders in 2013 is prospected to reach 46.4m dwt, increasing by 12% year on year, yet only 17% of the new order volume in 2007.