Auto & Transportation

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, in the order war in March, Chinese shipping enterprises regained the first place. However, with their strong performance in the field of LNG ships, the cumulative order intake of South Korea's shipbuilding industry in the first quarter still exceeded that of China and occupied the first place. In 2023, the order competition between China and South Korea's shipbuilding is becoming increasingly fierce.

According to data released by Clarkson on April 5th, the global new ship order volume in March this year was 79, totaling 2.43 million CGTs. Among them, China has undertaken 43 ships of 950000 CGTs, ranking first with a market share of 39%; South Korea has undertaken 15 800000 CGTs, ranking second with a market share of 33%. This is also the second time this year that China has reached the top of the monthly order taking list after winning the first place in January, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation.

However, based on the cumulative order receiving statistics in the first quarter, South Korea has undertaken a total of 3.12 million CGTs for 65 ships, still ranking first with a market share of 44%; China has undertaken 110 ships of 2.59 million CGTs, ranking second with a market share of 37%. Although China leads South Korea by 45 ships, South Korea, which mainly accepts orders for large liquefied gas and container ships, is ahead of China by 530000 CGTs in terms of CGT.

The Korean shipbuilding industry said that since the beginning of this year, the order receiving performance of Korean shipbuilding enterprises has continued to show a good momentum. In the first quarter, the total amount of orders received by the three major shipping companies reached approximately 13.82 trillion Korean won (approximately 10.5 billion US dollars), achieving approximately 33% of the annual target value of orders of 32.2 billion US dollars. Among them, the three shipbuilding subsidiaries of HD South Korea Shipbuilding Ocean, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Oupu Shipbuilding, and Hyundai Sanhu Heavy Industries, have received a total order amount of 7.28 billion US dollars, reaching 46.3% of the annual order target of 15.74 billion US dollars; Samsung Heavy Industries has undertaken 4 large LNG ships and 1 floating liquefied natural gas unit (FLNG), with a cumulative order amount of 2.55 billion US dollars, reaching 26.9% of this year's order target of 9.5 billion US dollars; Daewoo Shipbuilding has undertaken four new ship orders with a total contract amount of approximately $800 million, achieving 11.5% of the annual order target of $6.98 billion, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation.

Since the beginning of this year, the order receiving competition between China and South Korea's shipbuilding has entered a fierce state of catching up and leading alternately. According to data released by Clarkson, in January this year, Chinese shipping companies ranked first in the world with a market share of 57%; In February, South Korean shipping companies took a significant lead with a market share of 77.6%, while Chinese shipping companies only received orders with a market share of 8.46% in February, ranking third.

The Korean shipbuilding industry said that the global new shipbuilding market is gradually cooling down due to the impact of the world economic recession, the number of new ship orders will continue to decline, and the competition between China and South Korea for orders will become increasingly fierce. In response to this situation, the strategy of South Korean shipbuilding enterprises is to continue to take orders for high value-added ship types such as LNG ships, which have increased market popularity, and expand market share.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, in the first quarter of this year, a total of 19 large LNG ship orders were traded globally, while South Korean shipbuilding companies took on 17, with a market share of 89.47%. HD South Korea Shipbuilding Ocean has undertaken 10 ships, Samsung Heavy Industries has undertaken 4 ships, and Daewoo Shipbuilding has undertaken 3 ships. The remaining two ships were received by Jiangnan Shipbuilding.

As of the end of March this year, the total global handheld orders were 110.35 million CGTs, a decrease of 240000 CGTs compared to the previous month. Among them, China has 48.67 million CGTs, ranking first with a market share of 44%; South Korea has 38.68 million CGTs, ranking second with a market share of 35%. Compared to the end of February, South Korea increased its market share by 0.4% by 170000 CGTs, while China decreased its market share by 1% by 590000 CGTs.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, in March this year, the Clarkson New Shipbuilding Price Index was 165.56 points, an increase of 9.39 points from the same period last year. According to the ship type, the cost of a 174000 cubic meter LNG ship is 254 million US dollars, the cost of a VLCC is 120 million US dollars, and the cost of a VLCC is 215 million US dollars.