China’s inland waterway shipbuilding industry sees a revival due to declining steel prices.
Gong Jing, Caijing 16 December 2008
The order books at China’s shipbuilders are filling up with ships for inland and coastal use, despite continued troubles facing the global shipbuilding industry.
According to a report on the website of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) business is booming for shipbuilding companies in Yangzhou city, a major shipbuilding region in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province.
China’s shipbuilding companies have suffered from a weak market and surging steel prices over the past year. For instance, the Xinqiao Shipbuilding Company in Jiashan city, Zhejiang Province, halted operations for three months from July as they hadn’t received any orders during the first half of this year.
However, since October the market has been showing signs of revival. According to official statistics, around 63 privately-owned shipbuilders along the Yanshao River in Yangzhou are currently working on more than 150 inland and coastal ships, most of which are dry cargo ships with capacities of 500 to 2000 tons. Some companies have to turn down orders due to a lack of workers.
According to CANSI, shipbuilders in Jiashan have also reported encouraging business performance since October.
Chen Yaoqun, deputy secretary of Jiangsu Shipbuilding Industry Association, told Caijing that orders are increasing not only for shipbuilders in Yangzhou and Jiashan, but also other major shipbuilding regions across China.
According to Chen, although the financial crisis has affected the global shipping industry as well as China’s large scale marine shipbuilders, China’s inland waterway and coastal shipping industry hasn’t seen a dramatic decline, due to the stable performance of the national economy and the government’s stimulus plan.
At the same time, the rising price for steel - which squeezed smaller shipbuilders during the past two years - has started to drop dramatically since June this year, triggering the market to rebound. The price for steel plate for shipbuilding is now 4000 yuan per ton from its peak of 8000 yuan per ton.
Zhang Jing, senior researcher from the China Shipping Industry Research Center, said that inland and coastal shipping services focus on the domestic market, and are little affected by volatility in the international shipping industry. At the same time, ships for inland water transport are usually smaller and cheaper to build, so cause less financial pressure for companies.
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Steel Price Decline Boosts Chinese Shipbuilders
China’s inland waterway shipbuilding industry sees a revival due to declining steel prices.
Gong Jing, Caijing
16 December 2008
The order books at China’s shipbuilders are filling up with ships for inland and coastal use, despite continued troubles facing the global shipbuilding industry.
According to a report on the website of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) business is booming for shipbuilding companies in Yangzhou city, a major shipbuilding region in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province.
China’s shipbuilding companies have suffered from a weak market and surging steel prices over the past year. For instance, the Xinqiao Shipbuilding Company in Jiashan city, Zhejiang Province, halted operations for three months from July as they hadn’t received any orders during the first half of this year.
However, since October the market has been showing signs of revival. According to official statistics, around 63 privately-owned shipbuilders along the Yanshao River in Yangzhou are currently working on more than 150 inland and coastal ships, most of which are dry cargo ships with capacities of 500 to 2000 tons. Some companies have to turn down orders due to a lack of workers.
According to CANSI, shipbuilders in Jiashan have also reported encouraging business performance since October.
Chen Yaoqun, deputy secretary of Jiangsu Shipbuilding Industry Association, told Caijing that orders are increasing not only for shipbuilders in Yangzhou and Jiashan, but also other major shipbuilding regions across China.
According to Chen, although the financial crisis has affected the global shipping industry as well as China’s large scale marine shipbuilders, China’s inland waterway and coastal shipping industry hasn’t seen a dramatic decline, due to the stable performance of the national economy and the government’s stimulus plan.
At the same time, the rising price for steel - which squeezed smaller shipbuilders during the past two years - has started to drop dramatically since June this year, triggering the market to rebound. The price for steel plate for shipbuilding is now 4000 yuan per ton from its peak of 8000 yuan per ton.
Zhang Jing, senior researcher from the China Shipping Industry Research Center, said that inland and coastal shipping services focus on the domestic market, and are little affected by volatility in the international shipping industry. At the same time, ships for inland water transport are usually smaller and cheaper to build, so cause less financial pressure for companies.
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