South Korea’s shipbuilding industry has regained the top spot in global shipbuilding orders for the first time in three years, surpassing China.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy reported on Apr. 3 that S. Korea’s shipbuilding orders in the first quarter accounted for $13.6 billion, overtaking China’s orders of $12.6 billion, becoming the quarterly world leader.
This is the first time since the fourth quarter of 2021 that S. Korea has secured the world’s number-one position in quarterly shipbuilding orders. The first quarter’s order value represents 45.5% of the total annual order value of $29.9 billion in 2020 for South Korea’s shipbuilding industry.
According to a report by Clarkson Research, a British maritime and shipping research service, South Korea’s shipbuilding industry recorded a higher order value in the first quarter of this year compared to China.
S. Korea’s order value increased by 41.4% to $13.6 billion, while China’s order value increased by only 8.6% to $12.6 billion during the same period.
S. Korea has been in second place for the past three years, except for the fourth quarter of 2021, when the country outpaced China with orders worth $7.2 billion, while China recorded $6.7 billion in the same period. Even in the last quarter of the previous year, S. Korea’s shipbuilding orders amounted to $8 billion, only half of China’s $16 billion, showing a significant gap. However, in the first quarter, South Korea surpassed China by $1 billion.
In the first quarter of this year, the order volume of S. Korea was 4.49 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage), which was slightly lower than China’s 4.9 million CGT.
However, S. Korea was ahead of China in terms of order value by focusing on building high-value ships.
During the first quarter, S. Korea managed to secure 100% of the orders for eco-friendly ships placed worldwide, including 29 LNG carriers and 20 ammonia carriers. The total volume of orders also surpassed China in March, recording 1.05 million CGT as compared to China’s 730,000 CGT.
S. Korean shipbuilders HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean secured the top three positions in the global shipyard rankings as of Mar. 2024.
In addition, the country’s exports have maintained positive growth for eight consecutive months, starting from July 2023 until last month. This growth can be attributed to the robust performance of the shipbuilding industry.
To achieve this year’s export target of $700 billion, the Ministry has recognized the significance of the shipbuilding industry and plans to create a ‘Roadmap’ to develop the K-shipping industry in the first half of the year.
In the second half of the year, the Ministry will also unveil measures aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized shipyards, as well as the export competitiveness of the shipbuilding materials industry.