Korean shipbuilding ranks 2nd in order volume 4 years running

South Korea was ranked 2nd in total shipbuilding orders for four consecutive years last year, narrowing its gap with the industry leader China.

South Korean shipbuilding industry lost first place to China for four years, run topping the list in 2018, but it has managed to narrow the gap with China. According to Clarkson Research, South Korea received shipbuilding orders worth a total of 16.27 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage) last year, ranked second only to China (with 20.82 billion CGT). The margin between the two Asian countries fell from 8.33 million CGT in 2021 to 4.55 million in 2022. China saw its orders drop 20.5% from 2021, while South Korea fared relatively better, with a dip of 8.9%.

South Korea’s market share in global shipbuilding stood at 38% in 2022. As of late last year, South Korea’s order backlog was 37.5 million CGT, up 7.39 million CGT (24.5%) from the previous year at 30.11 million. China’s order backlog stood at 47.88 million CGT, growing by 14.9% during the same period.

Clarkson’s Newbuilding Price Index, a barometer of shipbuilders’ profitability, reached 161.81 points, up 7.63 points in December year-on-year. The prices of different types of ships were quoted at 248 million dollars for LNG carriers, 120 million dollars for large-sized oil tankers, and 215 million dollars for super containers.

Previously, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced that South Korea received orders of 11.98 million CGT, taking up 57.6% of the total volume of global orders (20.79 million CGT) in the high value-added shipbuilding industry, which includes large-sized LNG carriers. “South Korea is leading the shipbuilding market in sustainable and high value-added products, thereby boosting profitability and narrowing the gap with China again,” said an industry official.


Jae-Hyeng Kim monami@donga.com