S. Korean shipyards rank 2nd in new global orders in Jan.

shipbuilders-January orders

S. Korean shipyards rank 2nd in new global orders in Jan.

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shipbuilders lagged far behind their Chinese rivals in terms of new global orders to rank second in the world in February amid tumbling demand, industry data showed Tuesday.

Local shipbuilders won a combined 640,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders last month, accounting for 33 percent of the global total of 1.96 million CGTs, according to the data by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service.

The global total was down a whopping 63 percent from a year earlier.

Chinese shipyards far outpaced South Korean players, winning 1.12 million CGTs in new orders, or 57 percent of the total.

The data also showed global order backlogs coming 109.13 million CGTs at the end of January, up 770,000 CGTs from a month earlier.

South Korea's order backlog stood at 37.58 million CGTs, or 34 percent of the total, with China's reaching 49.19 million CGTs with 45 percent.

Clarkson's Newbuilding Price Index, a barometer of price changes in newly built ships, amounted to 162.51 points last month, up 8.25 points from a year.

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