China: New Shipbuilding Orders Down 50 Percent in 1H

According to the report published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, orders for new vessels booked by China’s shipbuilders fell sharply in the first half of 2012.

New orders fell 50.3 percent over a year earlier to 10.74 million deadweight tonnage. China’s shipbuilders completed 32.2 million DWT in the first half, up 4.2 percent.

At the end of June, China’s shipbuilders’ order book was 125.87 DWT, down 30.7 percent year on year. The orders represent about 1.8 years of the shipbuilders’ work.

[mappress]

Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, August 2, 2012; Image: gov.cn