During the first quarter of 2013, while global shipbuilding industries contracted a total of 6.6m cgt worth of $12bn, which increased by 14% in terms of cgt and declined by 15% in value terms, Korean small-and-medium sized shipbuilders posted the highest quarterly record of new order over the past two years.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) Overseas Economic Research Institute's Yang Jong-Seo researcher quoted statistical results from Clarkson and the institute as above and said the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index as of the end of the quarter stood at 126 points, as same as those from the end of the previous quarter.
In the first three months of this year, Korean and Chinese shipyards contracted 2.56m cgt and 2.53m cgt, up by 22.5% and 79.4% from the same quarter of 2012, respectively.
Especially, Korean-based small-and-medium sized shipbuilders, which represent build steel ships for export, excluding Korea's seven major shipyards (Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding and Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction), inked approximately 600,000 cgt in total, hugely increased from 24,000 cgt in Q1 2012. Also, total value of newbuildings contracted by them is estimatedly $930m, comparing with $70m in the same quarter of last year.
Korean S&M yards saw increasing orders for small-and-medium sized tankers, including product carriers, etc. In the first quarter of 2012, they contracted only one newbuilding. With huge orders for small-and-medium sized tankers, Korean S&M shipbuilders took 16.1% shares of overall domestic market.
Researcher Yang said although Korean S&Ms contracted record-high new orders last quarter, since the beginning quarter of 2011, they have not got out of depression and it seems early to conclude they have entered into a recovery phase.
And he emphasized "Although the shipbuilding market seems to have bottomed out, shipbuilding crisis would continue for a while. Therefore, domestic S&Ms are suggested to contract new orders for survival, rather than winning orders in excessively low prices. Also, they need to try hard to build up its technical skills in preparation for a market upturn."