China's shipbuilding industry posted a 151 percent increase in
its first-half profit, and the volumes of new and existing vessel
orders in the period both exceeded those of Japan and South Korea
for the first time.
The domestic shipbuilding industry realized a combined profit of
6.4 billion yuan (US$848 million) in the first half of this year, a
151 percent increase year-on-year. New ship orders hit a record of
more than 42 million deadweight tons (DWT) during the period, and
existing orders exceeded 100 million DWT for the first time,
according to Nie Lijuan, vice secretary general of the China
Association of National Shipbuilding Industry.
China has become the world's No. 3 shipbuilder after Japan and
South Korea. According to the latest statistics, China's
shipbuilding industry accounts for 20 percent of the global market.
The shipbuilding boom is fueled primarily by soaring global demand,
experts have noted.
Insufficient transport capacity has also boosted the
shipbuilding market, said Yao Weifu, manager of the Shanghai
Shipping Exchange's information division. Shipping demand in the
international bulk dry-cargo market has risen by over five percent
this year, while capacity has only grown three percent.
Poor capacity has resulted in a continuous rise in shipping
charges, and shipping companies have earned a lot because of it, so
shipbuilders seek to cash in on the demand for new ships by heavy
investments.
China COSCO Shipping will build four 27,000-DWT multi-purpose
ships worth US$126 million. China Shipping Development also plans
to build four 308,000-DWT crude oil tankers worth US$460
million.
The shipbuilding wave will continue to rise in the next few
years, experts predicted. The wave has also affected steel
manufacturers, as the demand for steel plates keeps rising.
Jinan Iron and Steel Group, the nation's largest vessel steel
plate maker, produced 850,000 tons of ship plates in the first
eight months of the year, an increase of nearly 300,000 tons
compared with the whole year 2006, according to the vice general
manager Chen Qixiang.
Average prices of four main steel products, steel wire,
reinforced steel bar, medium and thick plate, and cold-rolled steel
sheet, all rose slightly in the fourth week of August compared with
the previous week, according to a survey held by the National
Development and Reform Commission at the steel trading markets in
22 key cities. Average price of medium and thick plate for vessel
use was up 89 yuan from the third week of August to 4,507 yuan per
ton, the biggest growth among the four.
(Chinadaily.com.cn September 5, 2007)
