$135.4 Billion! China’s New Ship Orders Surge 58%, Reaching a 15-Year High!

China's 10,000 CGT new ship orders increased 27% year-on-year to 135.4 billion US dollars, far exceeding the same period last year's 128.5 billion US dollars, setting a new record. This increase not only surpassed the $139.8 billion in 2022 and $136.6 billion in 2013, but also slightly exceeded the $148.5 billion in the first quarter of 2023, making it the highest single-quarter increase since the 2008 financial crisis.

Clarkson predicted that this year could be a record year for the value of orders for new ships. In the first eight months, China's new ship order investment has exceeded 135.4 billion US dollars, accounting for more than one-third of the global total, reaching 138.7 billion US dollars, a surge of 58% year-on-year. This not only surpasses the $128.5 billion achieved for all of last year, but also exceeds the $120 billion achieved at the peak of the financial crisis in 2008.

The main factors driving the increase in new ship order value include high new building prices, stable demand, and an increase in green ship orders. Newbuilding prices have continued to climb this year, with Clarkson's new Building PriceIndex at 189 points, up 6 per cent since the start of the year and only 1 per cent below its peak in the third quarter of 2008. The shipyard has a strong order book, ensuring a steady workload of about 3.6 years. In addition, strong cross-industry demand for new shipbuilding and the inflationary pressure faced by shipyards also constitute a strong support for ship prices.

In the field of container ships and liquefied gas vessels, China's new ship orders have achieved strong growth. In the first eight months, new container ship orders reached 189, equivalent to 2.16 million TEU, surpassing the 1.57 million TEU for the whole of last year, ranking first in the world. New orders for liquefied gas carriers also reached 69 units, or about 12.98 million cubic meters, also far exceeding the record level for the whole of last year.

In addition, tanker orders also showed significant growth. In the first eight months, new orders for crude oil carriers reached 102 with a total DWT of more than 22.9 million tonnes, more than double the annual average of the past five years. Orders for new products vessels also reached 254, or about 16.2 million DWT, up 27% year-on-year and the highest in nearly 20 years.

Overall, Chinese shipowners outperformed the new shipbuilding market this year, ordering a total of 248 new ships and investing about $16.1 billion, far more than American shipowners (32 ships of $14.6 billion) and Greek shipowners (176 ships of $13.6 billion). Chinese shipyards also won the most new ship orders in the world, with a total of 28.2 million CGT of new ship orders, an increase of 49% year-on-year, and a market share of 67%.

With the substantial increase in order intake, China's shipyards also set a new record of orders, reaching 3,075 vessels / 78.9 million CGT/ 225.3 billion US dollars, surpassing the peak of 76.6 million CGT in October 2008. In the global hand orders, Chinese shipyards accounted for more than 50%, reaching a record high of 5,197 ships / 144.8 million CGT/ 447.9 billion US dollars.

It is worth mentioning that the increase in green ship orders is also an important factor driving the increase in the amount of new ship orders. In the first eight months of this year, China's new orders for alternative fuel vessels reached 481, accounting for about 50.8%, with a total value of $70.7 billion, an increase of 66% year-on-year. These orders account for 52.2% of the global new ship orders this year.