Chinese shipyards’ new orders slumped 69.4% year on year (y/y) to 14.0 million dwt in the first seven months of 2015, according to the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI).
While the yards’ completed tonnage climbed 9.8% to 22.7 million dwt over the period, their orderbook slipped 10.9% y/y to 136.7 million dwt.
Export orders, contributing 85% of the yards’ new orders, tumbled 72.2% y/y to 11.9 million dwt.
Related news:China Newbuilding Price Index continued to drop in July
Yet the 88 shipbuilding and relevant companies surveyed by CANSI reported a combined 3.7% y/y rise in operating revenues to CNY164.5 billion (USD25.7 billion), although their aggregate gross profit dropped 17.7% to CNY3.4 billion.
The industrial output values of these companies increased 4.5% y/y to CNY240.0 billion, with a rise for shipbuilders of 4.2%, an increase for marine-equipment makers of 2.3%, and a decline for ship repairers of 10.6% y/y.
China’s shipbuilders had ended 2014 with a y/y fall of 14.2% in awarded orders after buyers started cutting back on spending on new ships from late last year.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.