S. Korean shipyards get 54% of global new orders in January

South Korean shipyards were awarded 910,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) of new orders to outpace their Chinese rivals for the seventh straight month in January.

The orders received by South Korean shipyards represent 54 percent of the 1.7 million CGTs ordered globally in January or 24 of 66 ships.

It was a substantial on-year increase for Korean shipbuilders, who received new orders of 70,000 CGTs, or two ships, a year ago.

According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, Chinese shipbuilders came in second with 510,000 CGTs, representing 30 percent, with the Japanese at third with 260,000 CGTs.

New shipbuilding orders globally increased 14 percent from 1.49 million CGTs a year ago to 1.7 million CGTs in January.

Global order backlogs slightly fell by 1.92 million CGTs, or 3 percent, to 69.78 million CGTs in January from December.

Order backlogs by Chinese shipbuilders reached 24.59 million CGTs, or 35 percent of the total, followed by South Korean shipbuilders with 21.88 million CGTs and Japanese shipbuilders with 8.39 million CGTs.