S. Korean Shipbuilders Top the Table in July

South Korean shipbuilders have shown signs of picking up after overtaking their Chinese rivals to regain the top spot last month, according to Yonhap News Agency. However, the sum of new orders in the January-July period lags well behind China rivals.

The number of new orders for local shipyards jumped 3.6 times on-month to 33 ships totaling 1.4 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in July, reclaiming their No. 1 position after five months, according to Yonhap, citing data by global market researcher Clarkson Research Services.

CGT, an indicator of the amount of work needed to build a given ship, is used as a tool to compare inter-country shipbuilding output. It is the generally used measure for the volume of orders received.

Industry watchers say conditions have turned favorable for shipbuilders as global order backlogs edged up 0.44 percent, bouncing back from their continued downfall since March.

Source: Yonhap News Agency