Korean Media: South Korea's Shipbuilding Order Share Drops to Just 9% in June, China Dominates Global Orders!

On August 1, Korean media outlet *Herald Economic* published an article stating that June, a traditional off-season for ship orders, saw a decline in South Korea's shipbuilding orders, with its market share remaining stable at 9%. In contrast, China nearly monopolized the market, capturing a staggering 85% share.

Data released by Clarkson Research, a UK-based specialized firm focusing on shipbuilding and shipping market trends, shows that global ship orders totaled 5.25 million CGT (200 vessels) in June 2026. Although this represents a 9% decrease compared to May’s 5.76 million CGT, it marks a 3% increase compared to the same period last year (5.09 million CGT).

By country, South Korea secured 500,000 CGT (13 vessels, accounting for 9%) of orders—just one-ninth of China’s 4.45 million CGT (171 vessels, representing 85%).

However, when considering average CGT per vessel, South Korea led with 38,000 CGT per ship, surpassing China’s 26,000 CGT per vessel.

For the first half of 2026, cumulative global ship orders reached 42.95 million CGT (1,481 vessels), a 66% increase compared to the same period last year (25.9 million CGT, 1,101 vessels).

Among them, South Korea recorded 7.97 million CGT (195 vessels, or 19%), while China secured 31 million CGT (1,131 vessels, or 72%), both showing year-on-year growth of 60% and 113%, respectively.

As of the end of June, global ship order backlog stood at 206.59 million CGT, an increase of 2.14 million CGT from May. South Korea’s order backlog amounted to 38.81 million CGT (19%), while China’s reached 134.03 million CGT (65%).

Compared to the previous month, South Korea and China added 1.59 million CGT and 770,000 CGT respectively; compared to the same period last year, they increased by 3.69 million CGT and 30.2 million CGT respectively.

Meanwhile, as of the end of June 2026, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index stood at 185.15, rising slightly from May’s 185.01 by 0.14 points.

As of June 2026, the average prices for various vessel types were: LNG carriers at $248.5 million, very large crude carriers (VLCCs) at $130.5 million, and ultra-large container ships at $261.5 million.

Original Source: toutiao.com/article/1872321196759116/

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