Despite facing the threat of the US government's 301 tariffs, Chinese shipping companies still demonstrate strong market resilience and competitiveness. After being briefly overtaken by South Korea in March, Chinese shipping companies quickly counterattacked in April, successfully winning nearly 70% of global new ship orders and once again maintaining their position as the top global order takers.
According to data released by Clarkson on May 9th, the global new ship order volume in April this year was 75 ships with a revised total tonnage (CGT) of 3.64 million. Calculated by CGT, it decreased by 56% compared to the same period last year's 8.36 million CGT and increased by 82% compared to 2 million CGT of March. Among them, Chinese shipping companies have undertaken 51 new ship orders worth 2.51 million CGT, with a global market share of 69%, ranking first; South Korean shipping companies have received orders for 15 ships with a CGT of 620000, ranking second with a global market share of 17%.
Based on the CGT of a single ship, the average new ship order undertaken by Chinese shipping companies is 49,200 CGT per ship, while the average order of South Korean shipping companies is 41,300 CGT per ship, with China surpassing South Korea by nearly 20%. This also means that in the order battle in April, Chinese shipping companies not only suppressed Korean shipping companies in terms of order quantity, but also defeated Korean shipping companies in terms of order quality.
In March of this year, Chinese shipping companies received an average of 17,000 CGT per new ship order, while Korean shipping companies received an average of 48,000 CGT per order, which is 2.8 times higher and significantly more high-end orders than Chinese shipping companies.
From January to April this year, the global cumulative new ship order volume was 372 ships with a CGT of 12.59 million, a decrease of 50% compared to the 1056 ships with a CGT of 25.04 million in the first quarter of last year. Among them, Chinese shipping companies have received orders for 215 ships with a CGT of 6.82 million, with a market share of 59%, ranking first in the world; South Korean shipping companies have received orders for 57 ships with a CGT of 2.8 million, ranking second with a market share of 22%.
In April of this year, the price of new shipbuilding slightly declined but remained at a high level. The Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index was 187.11 points, a slight decrease from 187.43 points in March, but about 1.7% higher than the 183.92 points in the same period last year. From the perspective of ship type, the price of a 174,000 cubic meter large LNG carrier is 255 million US dollars; The price of a very large crude oil tanker (VLCC) is $125 million; The price of 22,000-24,000 TEU ultra large container ships is 273.5 million US dollars.
In 2024, China's shipbuilding industry will basically maintain a crushing position over South Korea in terms of new ship orders. In the 12 months of the year, except for February and July when South Korea occasionally took the top spot, China won the monthly order list for the remaining 10 months.
But since the beginning of this year, the South Korean shipbuilding industry has shown a relatively rapid trend of grabbing orders. According to Clarkson's data, in January of this year, the global new ship order volume was 51 ships with 1.46 million CGT. Among them, South Korea received 13 new ship orders with 900,000 CGT, occupying the top spot with a market share of 62% in terms of CGT; China has received 21 new ship orders with 270,000 CGT, with a market share of 19%, ranking second.
However, in February of this year, China's shipbuilding industry quickly regained its momentum. According to Clarkson's data, the global new ship order volume in February this year was 50 ships with a CGT of 2.07 million. Among them, Chinese shipping companies undertook 37 new ship orders with a CGT of 1.35 million, with a market share of 65%, ranking first; South Korean shipping companies have received orders for 7 ships and 290000 CGT, with a market share of only 14%, ranking second.
In March of this year, South Korea once again surpassed China to return to the top spot. According to Clarkson's data, the global new ship order volume in March was 58 ships and 1.5 million CGT. Among them, Korean shipping companies undertook 17 new ship orders and 820000 CGT, with a global market share of 55%, ranking first; Chinese shipping companies have received 31 orders and 520000 CGT, with a global market share of 35%, ranking second.
Industry analysis points out that the draft 301 provisions targeting China's shipping, logistics, and shipbuilding industries released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) at the end of February have had a significant impact on the new shipbuilding market, prompting some international shipping companies to reassess their new ship orders. However, with USTR's announcement of a revised port fee collection plan in April, which reduced charges for Chinese built or newly constructed ships owned by non-Chinese companies, ship owners are returning to Chinese shipyards to book ships.
In April of this year, several domestic shipyards received important orders. In early April, Italian shipping giant Grimaldi Group signed a contract with China Merchants Industrial Weihai Jinling in Hong Kong to build nine methanol fueled passenger roll on/roll off ships. The new ships will be delivered between 2028 and 2030, with a total contract value of up to 1.3 billion US dollars (approximately 9.541 billion yuan).
In late April, Hengli Heavy Industries received an order for six 22,000TEU dual fuel LNG powered container ships from Mediterranean Shipping, which will be delivered between 2028 and 2029. This is the third new ship order from Mediterranean Shipping to Hengli Heavy Industries. Last year, Hengli Heavy Industries had already received orders for 10 21,000TEU and 10 24,000TEU dual fuel LNG powered ultra large container ships from Mediterranean Shipping.
At the end of April, COSCO SHIPPING announced that its subsidiary Orient Overseas had placed an order to build 14 18,500TEU methanol dual fuel container ships. Among them, Nantong COSCO HKI will build 5 ships, and Dalian COSCO KHI will build another 9 ships, with a total contract amount of 3.08 billion US dollars (approximately 22.189 billion yuan). The new ship is expected to be delivered between the third quarter of 2028 and the third quarter of 2029.
Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding also won the contract for the construction of six 11,400TEU class container ships from Seaspan, the world's largest independent container ship owner, at the end of April. The new ships are scheduled to be delivered gradually from 2027 to 2028.
According to Clarkson's data, as of the end of April this year, the global handheld order volume was 1,604,600 CGT, a decrease of 1.93 million CGT from the end of March. Among them, the number of new ship orders held by China reached 94.67 million CGT, maintaining its first place with a market share of 59%; South Korea holds a new ship order volume of 35.57 million CGT, with a market share of 22%, ranking second.