Chinese yards hit hard by fall in bulker demand

China's government-controlled China Daily says that Chinese shipbuilders have taken a bigger hit than their foreign competitors from the global economic downturn "and the outlook is even gloomier for the next two years."

China Daily quotes figures from Clarkson Research Services that show that in the first 11 months of 2008, Chinese yards reported a 44 percent drop in new orders, compared to a world average 37 percent decline, receiving newbuilding orders totaling 54.26 million dwt, compared to South Korea's 65.97 million (down 29 percent) and Japan's 17.92 million (down 18 percent).

China is being hit hard by a faster fall in demand for bulk carriers than for containerships and tankers.

China Daily says that while the IMF predicts that new shipbuilding orders in 2009 will fall to about 60 percent of this year's level. Bao Zhangjing, senior researcher from the China Shipping Industrial and Economic Research Center, is even more pessimistic, putting the number at only 40 percent.

Analysts said the downward trend will continue for the next two to three years.

Nantong Rongsheng Heavy Industry Group Co Ltd, one of the top 10 shipbuilders in China, has reported that $1.6 billion in new shipbuilding orders booked earlier this year were cancelled, says China Daily. It quotes Singapore Pacific Carriers as saying that of about 382 shipbuilding orders canceled worldwide, 197 orders, totaling 19.66 million tons dwt, were with Chinese yards.

Read the China Daily story HERE