Korean shipbuilders sweep half of global orders in January

Korean shipbuilders won more orders last month than any other country in the world,... and
did so by a massive margin.
But with so much uncertainty in the market, experts say it's too soon to call it a recovery.
For more on why the ailing industry still has a way to go to regain its former glory,...
Lee Unshin reports.
Korean shipbuilders topped the global market last month, picking up half of all orders
placed worldwide.
Data from Clarksons Research Institute showed that in January the nation clinched orders
worth 300-thousand compensated gross tons, or CGTs, out of 600-thousand CGTs globally.
CGTS are a measure of the work needed to build a vessel, and the 300-thousand-CGT figure
will see them build seven ships.
China recorded the second-biggest order volume in January at 110-thousand CGTs followed by
Japan at 20-thousand CGTs.
Korea's order volume more than doubled the 130-thousand CGTs it got a month earlier,
and dwarfed the 20-thousand CGTs seen the same month last year.
However, in terms of order backlog, China has the most at 28.4 million CGTs, about 35-percent
of the global total, while Korea has less than 20 million.
Despite the turnaround for Korea last month, experts say it's too early to project how
global shipbuilders will do for rest of the year.
"Korea's January numbers are impressive, however we can't determine the market's direction
for the coming months just from that.
The nation's biggest shipbuilders have been seeing losses for the past few years, actually,
due to fewer orders and more expensive materials."
The expert adds that, more than the monthly figure, rising oil prices are a stronger indicator
that the industry should be hopeful for this year.
Local shipbuilders could see more demand for both vessels and off-shore plants.
Lee Unshin Arirang News.

Korean shipbuilders sweep half of global orders in January

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