Korea Tops Ship Orders in November, Accounting for 60% of Global Orders

Second Half (July-November) Order Volume Surpasses First Half
Korea Up 186%... China Down 35%

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The South Korean shipbuilding industry secured more than 60% of the global ship orders in November, significantly surpassing China and maintaining its position as the top shipbuilder.

According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, South Korea ranked first in ship orders in November with 990,000 CGT. China followed with 600,000 CGT (24 vessels, 37%), and Vietnam with 50,000 CGT (8 vessels, 3%). South Korea accounted for 60% of the global ship orders in November (1.64 million CGT, 56 vessels).

From January to November this year, cumulative orders by country were China with 6.67 million CGT (298 vessels, 46%), South Korea with 5.02 million CGT (137 vessels, 35%), and Japan with 1.18 million CGT (78 vessels, 8%). Although South Korea trailed China by 39 percentage points in cumulative orders at the end of June, it has narrowed the gap to 11 percentage points by the end of November.

A Clarkson Research official explained, "If the LNG carrier and VLCC orders omitted from the November data are included, the cumulative order gap between the two countries is expected to decrease significantly."

With the recovery in order activity in the second half of the year, global orders from July to November (7.5 million CGT) have already surpassed the first half's orders (6.97 million CGT). South Korea's orders from July to November increased by 186% compared to the first half, while China's decreased by 35%, clearly showing South Korea's dominance in the market during the second half.

Meanwhile, the global cumulative orders from January to November totaled 14.47 million CGT, which is 57% of the 25.23 million CGT recorded in the same period last year. South Korea was the only country to see a 2% increase in order backlog.

Over the past three years, cumulative ship orders from January to November were 32.15 million CGT in 2018, 25.23 million CGT in 2019 (down 22%), and 14.47 million CGT in 2020 (down 43%).

By ship type, orders for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) and S-Max class tankers slightly increased, while orders for A-Max class tankers, container ships (over 12,000 TEU), and large LNG carriers decreased.

At the end of November, the global order backlog recorded a slight increase of 30,000 CGT compared to the end of October, reaching 67.84 million CGT. By country, Japan (down 240,000 CGT, 3%), and China (down 60,000 CGT) saw decreases, while South Korea (up 420,000 CGT, 2%) was the only country to see an increase in order backlog for two consecutive months.

Compared to the same period last year, order backlogs decreased for Japan (down 4.67 million CGT, 36%), China (down 3.09 million CGT, 11%), and South Korea (down 2.28 million CGT, 11%). By country, order backlogs were led by China with 24.98 million CGT (37%), followed by South Korea with 19.36 million CGT (29%), and Japan with 8.29 million CGT (12%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.