Recently, according to Clarkson statistics, the global new orders received in December 2012 were 5.19 million deadweight tons, a significant increase of 198% compared to the previous month. Although there has been a significant rebound on a month on month basis, it has decreased by 17% year-on-year. In 2012, the total number of new global orders received was 45.48 million deadweight tons, a year-on-year decrease of 47%, indicating that the overall recovery of ships still needs time. Looking ahead to 2013, the development of the shipbuilding industry still faces certain challenges: the shipbuilding industry is facing the challenge of "three difficulties".

According to the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, the current shipbuilding completion volume has exceeded the number of new orders received during the same period for 12 consecutive months. Among the shipyards within the statistical scope, one-third of the enterprises have not received orders.

In addition, the proportion of high priced ships delivered has significantly decreased, while factors such as rising labor and raw material costs, and appreciation of the RMB exchange rate have not shown significant improvement.

It is reported that many orders from Chinese shipping companies come from the heavily affected areas of the European debt crisis, such as Greece. Due to the sluggish shipping market and continuous losses in shipowner operations, the phenomenon of difficult ship delivery has spread from small and medium-sized shipyards to backbone shipyards. Ship owners are increasingly demanding changes in design, contract terms, strict inspections, and adjustments to ship prices. With the implementation of new international standards and regulations, ship delivery is becoming more and more difficult. Some enterprises have extensive management, insufficient understanding of norms and standards, and are not adapted to the strict requirements of ship owners. The difficulty of ship delivery has significantly increased, and the situation of delayed ship delivery has increased.

Due to the shipowner's unwillingness to pick up the ship, the delayed payment is difficult to recover, and the enterprise also bears the high costs of docks, labor, and finance. The main economic indicators of the shipbuilding industry have declined, and after the past difficulties in delivering ships and accepting orders, it is necessary to accept the challenge of "difficulty in profitability".

The macroeconomic recovery both domestically and internationally remains slow

Wang Jinlian, Secretary General of the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, said that the shipbuilding industry is an important component of the real economy, and Chinese shipbuilding companies that mainly rely on overseas markets are deeply influenced by the international economic environment.

In 2013, the global economy was still in a period of adjustment after the financial crisis, and there were many complex and uncertain factors in the international environment; The domestic economy is expected to stabilize and rebound, but the original competitive advantages and growth momentum are gradually weakening.

Affected by the slow global economic recovery, the maritime market continues to be sluggish. In 2012, China's ship exports declined, and the three major shipbuilding indicators decreased significantly year-on-year. It is expected that the completion of shipbuilding will reach 58 million deadweight tons, a year-on-year decrease of 24.3%. It is expected that the demand for new shipbuilding will still decrease significantly in 2013, and China's shipbuilding completion will continue to show a negative growth trend.

50% of shipyards will go bankrupt in the next two to three years

Affected by the still strong risk of economic recession in Europe, the weak recovery of the US economy, and the slowdown in the development of emerging economies, market demand has shrunk. The shipping market is facing a significant increase in transportation capacity, with severe oversupply and fierce competition among shippers or shipping companies. In addition, with the rise in oil prices and other production costs of shipping companies, their freight income has significantly decreased, and they are generally facing losses.

Currently, the shipbuilding and transportation industries are experiencing significant losses and production shutdowns. Due to the sluggish maritime market, some shipping companies have scrapped unprofitable vessels in advance. Under the premise of shipping companies reducing their capacity, shipyards have also been deeply affected and fallen into a downturn. Amidst the successive bankruptcies of shipyards in major shipbuilding provinces in China, industry experts believe that 50% of shipyards in mainland China will go bankrupt within the next two to three years.

The shipping market will become more difficult, which is not conducive to the recovery of the shipbuilding industry

Most experts believe that the current supply-demand imbalance in the global shipping market is difficult to eliminate, and the shipping market will continue to be sluggish, with little possibility of a short-term market rebound. At the same time, the demand for ship types in the international new shipbuilding market has changed again compared to the previous year. Despite the sluggish total transaction volume of bulk carriers, they still dominate the market, and the transaction volume of oil tankers has also begun to slightly rebound. The market for large-scale equipment products related to oil and gas exploration, development, production, and transportation (oil tankers, liquefied gas carriers, drilling platforms, production platforms, and marine auxiliary ships) is relatively active, while the market for container ships, especially ultra large container ships, is very weak. Due to the gradual delivery of ultra large ships ordered in 2011 starting in 2013, there will be a serious tonnage surplus in the container shipping market in 2013, and greater market pressure may arise in 2013. With the continued sluggish operation of China's maritime market in 2013, it will not be conducive to the recovery of the shipbuilding industry in the later stage.

Meanwhile, experts also suggest that the recovery of the shipping industry may take two to three years, and the recovery of the shipbuilding industry will lag behind accordingly. However, with the acceleration of global economic recovery, the shipping industry will also accelerate its recovery. Experts believe that by the end of 2014, the shipbuilding industry may usher in a "spring".