Chinese shipyards have suffered a major decline in new order volumes during the first quarter of 2017, amid the continued depression in the shipbuilding market.
According to a report by China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), Chinese shipyards received total new order volumes of 5.54m dwt in the first three months of 2017, a decline of 25.4% compared with the same period in 2016.
53 leading shipyards secured 4.42m dwt of the total volume, a year-on-year decline of 26.3%. In new order volume of export ships, the fifty-three yards have seen a decline of 44.7% to 3.67m dwt.
By the end of March, Chinese shipyards’ total order backlog stands at 88.65m dwt, down 27.2% year-on-year.
“The outlook of shipbuilding market this year is not optimistic. The domestic shipyards are still facing challenges despite the slight rebound in the shipping market and the consolidation in the domestic shipbuilding industry will continue,” an official from CANSI told Splash.
