Korea lost to China again, and the gap is widening

On the same day, Yonhap quoted the latest data from Clarkson, a British shipbuilding and maritime industry analysis agency, as reported that in September this year, the global order volume of new ships was 1.86 million revised gross tons, down 59% year-on-year. Among them, the number of new ship orders received by Chinese shipping enterprises was 1.53 million revised gross tons, a total of 62 ships, accounting for about 82.3%, ranking first in the world. South Korean shipping companies received 120,000 revised gross tons of new ship orders, a total of 4 new ships, accounting for about 6.5%, ranking second in the world.

The data also shows that in the first nine months of this year, the cumulative global orders for new ships were 30.14 million revised gross tons, a total of 1,196 ships, a decrease of 23% year-on-year. Among them, China and South Korea's new ship orders accounted for 60% and 25%, respectively. As of the end of September, China's total hand-held orders reached 58.15 million CGT, accounting for 48%, while South Korea's 39.44 million CGT, accounting for 32%. The figures once again highlight the gap between South Korea's shipbuilding industry and that of China.

South Korean media have recently expressed concern about the gap between South Korea's shipbuilding industry and its Chinese competitors. They point out that China's shipbuilding industry is significantly ahead of South Korea in terms of order intake, while South Korean shipowners face serious challenges in taking on new orders. South Korean media attributed the gap to labor and technology problems in the country. Factors such as a shortage of human resources, rising costs and declining production capacity at Korean shipyards have adversely affected the number of orders. Although the South Korean government has eased the labor shortage by easing work visas and bringing in foreign labor, the chronic labor shortage still exists, and ship delivery delays have become one of the headaches of the South Korean shipbuilding industry.