South Korea's shipbuilding orders narrow the gap with China for the first time in five years.

Korean Media: South Korea's Shipbuilding Orders Narrow the Gap with China for the First Time in Five Years!

On February 4, the Korean media "Herald Economic" published an article stating that last year, South Korea's shipbuilding order share rebounded to over 20%, for the first time in five years narrowing the gap with China.

The British shipbuilding and shipping market analysis company Clarksons Research stated that according to statistics, the global shipbuilding orders in 2025 reached 56.43 million CGT, a decrease of 27% compared to 2024. Among them, South Korean shipbuilding companies accounted for 21%, with an order volume of 11.6 million CGT (247 ships); Chinese shipbuilding companies accounted for 63%, with an order volume of 35.37 million CGT (1,421 ships). South Korea's shipbuilding orders increased by 8% year-on-year, while China's shipbuilding orders decreased by 35%.

This is the first time in five years that South Korea's shipbuilding industry has narrowed the gap with China. Since 2009, when its order volume was first overtaken by China, South Korea's shipbuilding industry has been striving to regain the top position. However, after last obtaining the top position in 2020, it began to decline. The gap in order share between China and South Korea widened year by year: 32% (South Korea) vs. 51% (China) in 2021, 32% (South Korea) vs. 52% (China) in 2022, 20% (South Korea) vs. 60% (China) in 2023, and 14% (South Korea) vs. 71% (China) in 2024.

However, some analysts believe that last year, South Korea's shipbuilding industry narrowed the gap with China, and its market share rebounded to around 20%, mainly due to strong orders for large ships such as container ships and high-value-added vessels.

At the same time, Clarksons Research reported that as of the end of last year, the global backlog of shipbuilding orders was 173.91 million CGT, among which South Korea accounted for 35.12 million CGT (20%), and China accounted for 107.48 million CGT (62%). Compared to the same period last year, South Korea's order backlog decreased by 2.45 million CGT, while China's order backlog increased by 10.01 million CGT. As of the end of last year, Clarksons New Ship Index was 184.65, an increase of 47% compared to five years ago.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856160450225371/

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