Shipyards in Jiangsu, China’s largest shipbuilding province, received just 1.93 million dwt in new orders in the first half of this year, down 86.8% year-on-year.
Newbuilding output in Jiangsu for 1H15 amounted to 8.46 million dwt, and the order book held by local yards stood at 60.95 million dwt as of the end of June, down 10.4% y/y.
The plunge in new orders is attributed to the sluggish shipping market, according to Tao Yonghong, a professor from Jiangsu University of Science and Technology.
The Baltic Dry Index fell to a historic low of 509 in February 2015 as demand for bulk commodities plunged.
Most yards in Jiangsu construct bulk carriers, orders for which have dived in the first quarter of 2015 worldwide.
Related news: China ship orders slumped 72.6% y/y in 1H15
Tao said the decline in new orders received by Jiangsu yards is thus greater than that of the country’s yards.
Local shipping experts also pointed out that the drop in orders of offshore vessels has also led to the reduction of the demand for Chinese-built ships.
Tao believes that freight rates will remain at low level in a short term, and there is little hope for the shipbuilding sector in Jiangsu and even China to see a big rebound in 2016.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.