Korean shipbuilding industries were placed in the first place of new order in December 2012.
According to glinfo.com, in December, a total of 237 newbuildings were contracted in the world, up by 10 vessels month-on-month. Most of shipbuilding countries other than China set quite a satisfactory record last month, particularly Korea.
In December 2012, Chinese shipbuilders won orders for overall 92 newbuildings, 61 vessels less than the previous month - 35 fishing boats, 20 bulkers (increased by eight vessels month-on-month), zero boxship, two offshore drilling platforms, etc.
During the same month, the other shipbuilding countries booked a total of 145 vessels, up by 71 vessels on the previous month. Especially, Korean shipyards contracted the largest number of newbuildings, 95 vessels, up by 66 month-on-month. Most of orders were for high-value ships and were placed by European owners.
China's new order still takes larger proportion in lower-value ships and is still seemed to be less competitive than Korean shipbuilders. Although new order is slightly increasing, shipbuilding market would not be recovered soon amid low newbuilding prices.