Japanese shipbuilders saw newbuilding export orders increase slightly in October, latest industry figures show.
Orders were reported for 14 ships of 854,100-gt, down 4% year-on-year and up nearly 28% from September, Japan Ship Exporters Association (JSEA) data showed
October’s orders were dominated by bulkers, which made up 10 of the ships ordered including two panamaxes, five handymaxes, a single handysize bulker, one coal carrier and an ore carrier.
The order backlog for vessel exports held by Japanese shipbuilders stood at 25mgt across 494 vessels at the end of October, down 8% year-on-year.
So far this year JSEA yards have secured orders for 112 ships of 5.2mgt versus the 123 ships of 5.6mgt ordered in the corresponding period last year.
The size of the orderbook at Japanese yards has recently reached its lowest level since the early 2000s, according to a recent report by Clarksons.
It said that due to limited ordering and steady deliveries in recent years, the Japanese newbuilding orderbook has declined 51%, in CGT terms, since its most recent peak at the start of 2016, and is now at its “lowest level since July 2002”.
However, despite this decline the number of ‘active’ Japanese yards with at least one 1,000+ GT unit on order has remained relatively steady, falling by only 13 since start 2016 to stand at 52 yards as of start November, said Clarksons.
“This reflects the relatively steady expansion of Japanese shipbuilding during the boom years, with the number active yards peaking at 72, as well as cooperation between a number of shipbuilding groups, with the formation of various business alliances.”
