Beijing, July 16, 2024, The Europe Today: China’s shipbuilding industry has demonstrated substantial growth in the first half of 2024, further cementing its leading global position, according to data released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
From January to June, China completed shipbuilding projects totaling 25.02 million deadweight tonnes (DWT), marking an 18.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year. New orders surged to 54.22 million DWT, reflecting an impressive year-on-year growth of 43.9 percent. By the end of June, the order book stood at 171.55 million DWT, up 38.6 percent from the previous year.
The MIIT data underscores China’s dominance in the global shipbuilding market. During the first half of this year, China’s shipbuilding completions, new orders, and order book, as measured by DWT, accounted for 55 percent, 74.7 percent, and 58.9 percent of the global totals, respectively. In comparison, the 2023 figures for these indicators were 50.2 percent, 66.6 percent, and 55 percent.
Despite global economic uncertainties and the impacts of trade protectionism and de-globalization on the shipbuilding industry, China’s economy has remained resilient, with a continued recovery in maritime trade, according to Cao Bo, deputy director of the statistical information department of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI).
China’s shipbuilding industry continued to recover
“In June this year, as the shipbuilding industry continued to recover, the new ship price index climbed to 187.23, an increase of 9.5 percent year-on-year, reaching its highest level since September 2008,” Cao added.
Statistics from CANSI reveal that the main business income of China’s large-scale shipbuilding enterprises increased by 31.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year.
The shipping industry is a critical pillar of global economic development and serves as a barometer of China’s macroeconomic health. This year, several of China’s ports have shown continuous growth in throughput.
From January to June, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the world’s busiest port in terms of cargo throughput, handled 708 million tonnes of cargo, a 4.2 percent year-on-year increase, and 19.165 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, up by 8.4 percent. Guangzhou Port is estimated to have processed 12.206 million TEUs, representing a 6.3 percent growth.
Wu Chungeng, chief planner with the Ministry of Transport, noted that in 2023, China’s waterway cargo transport volume remained the highest in the world and continued to grow steadily in the first half of this year.
“Maritime transport handles about 95 percent of China’s foreign trade cargo,” Wu said at a recent forum. “China’s international shipping volume now accounts for nearly one-third of the global total, further highlighting its role as a ballast in international shipping.”
This robust performance reinforces China’s strategic importance in global trade and its ongoing commitment to advancing its maritime and shipbuilding industries.
