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BEIJING—China
surpassed South Korea to become the world’s biggest
shipbuilder by new orders in 2007, according to data
compiled by Clarkson Plc, the world’s largest
shipbroker.
Chinese
shipbuilders booked orders for 103.6 million deadweight
tons of ships, compared with
South Korea’s
94.8 million, according to data from London-based
Clarksons.
Shipyards in
China booked orders at historically high prices last year,
more than tripling order backlogs at the nation’s
shipyards. Demand for vessels to carry Chinese imports
of raw materials and exports of consumer goods is
fueling earnings growth at shipbuilders including China
State Shipbuilding Co., the nation’s biggest.
The
nation remained behind
South Korea
in new orders measured by compensated gross tons.
Deadweight tonnage measures a finished ship’s carrying
capacity and doesn’t reflect the cost of building a
vessel or its sale price. Compensated gross tonnage is a
measure that accounts for ship size and the time
required and materials used for production.
China
booked 29.2 million gross compensated tons of new orders
last year, compared with South Korea’s 32 million,
Clarkson said.
Surging
orders helped
China’s
order backlog more than triple to 51 million compensated
gross tons as South Korea’s backlog doubled to 64.5
million compensated gross tons, according to Clarkson.
Japan
booked about 20 percent as many new orders as
China
and South Korea, Clarkson said. IHI Corp., Japan’s
third-biggest heavy-machinery maker, today said it’s in
talks with JFE Holdings Inc., the nation’s
second-biggest steelmaker, to create the biggest
Japanese shipbuilder to compete against Asian rivals.
(Bloomberg) |
