Record order book for global shipbuilding for SMM 2008

Global shipbuilding and the SMM are moving forward together from one record to the next. At the beginning of 2008 the shipbuilding industry reported its highest order level of all time, according to Lloyd’s Register Fairplay, with a total of 10,055 ships ordered, and 329.7 million gross tons (GT).

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The dynamism of the global shipbuilding market is clearly showing its quantitative and qualitative impact in the wide range of exhibitors at the SMM 2008. This 23rd shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology, international trade fair hamburg, to be held at the New Hamburg Fair site from 23 to 26 September 2008, is the first to use all new halls, giving more exhibition space than ever before, that is 87,000 square metres. This leading fair of the global shipbuilding industry is expected to attract 1,800 exhibitors from more than 50 nations – more than any previous SMM.
All the shipbuilding nations in the world’s Top Ten ranking list will be represented at the SMM 2008. The shipbuilding association of the world’s number one will be among them, that is the Korea Shipbuilders' Association (KOSHIPA). South Korea has the fullest order book of all with 2,242 orders and 97.8 million GT or 50.2 CGT (Compensated Gross Tons – i.e. tonnage weighted by the complexity of the shipbuilding work involved). The Korean shipyards took undisputed first place again in terms of ships completed in 2007. The 425 newbuildings produced in the past year, with 11.1 million CGT, account for a market share of 32.1%. Japanese shipbuilders made up about a quarter (25.6%) of newbuilding tonnage, and China took third position (19.2%). The member countries of the Community of European Shipyards' Associations (CESA) delivered 14.1% of all newbuildings.
The world shipbuilding rankings were again very much in movement in 2007. There were some new names in the Top Ten, measured by market shares of the order book. Following Vietnam in 2006, India and the Philippines made it into the Top Ten in 2007 – a clear signal of Asia’s continued growth in global shipbuilding.
China's march to the top, announced many years ago, seems unstoppable. Six years ago, China’s shipbuilding industry was still well behind the leading neighbours Korea and Japan, with 6% of completed newbuildings and a 12.3% share of the order book. Just how much China has now caught up with the top shipbuilders Korea is evident from last year’s orders and the order book at the beginning of January 2008. There was a real wave of orders, lifting China’s new order share to 33.9% of CGT newbuilding tonnage, that is second place following Korea (38.7%). The newbuilding contracts signed with Japanese shipyards accounted for only 11.9% of the total of 85.3 million CGT ordered last year, that is 4,851 ships.
The statisticians of Lloyd’s Register put Korea in first position with a 35.7% share of the world order book, ahead of China (28.3%) and Japan (17.3%). All the CESA members put together make up 9.4%.
More than a quarter of the order book (27.5%) comprised orders for 2,518 bulkers, with 48.9 million CGT. Calculated in GT the share was as high as 35.2%. There was likewise strong demand for container ships. 1,436 ships with 39.4 million CGT correspond to a share of 22.1% of the order book. They are followed by crude oil carriers in third place (533 ships with 17.1 million CGT, that is 9.6%).
The sophisticated segment of cruise shipbuilding, where all the main players are present at the SMM 2008, comprised only 48 ships at the beginning of 2008 – but they accounted for 2.6% of the total order book, with an order value of more than 25 billion US dollars. Delivery of these ships extends into 2012. The largest pieces of this cake are taken by the Big Three in cruise shipbuilding, that is Fincantieri, Aker Yards Finland and Aker Yards France, and Meyer Werft. The dimensions of these ships are growing and growing. The Genesis 2 was laid down in Turku by Aker Yards Finland on 4 February 2008, and is scheduled for completion in 2010. Genesis 1 and 2 are the biggest cruise ships in the world, with 220,000 GRT, 360 metres length overall, 71 metres beam width, and space for 5,400 passengers. The leading cruise ship operators Carnival, Royal Caribbean, MSC and NCL are certainly not letting up in their ordering activities. That is hardly surprising because, as the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) indicates, some 12.6 million passengers booked these luxury vessels in 2007, that is 4.6% more than in 2006. The cruise ship yards and their suppliers are enjoying a stable high-pressure zone, which looks like it will continue to favour the SMM 2008.