Near all-time highs are shipbuilding prices for almost all ship categories according to a study by Danish Ship Finance. Continued placement of new orders and limited shipyard availability are pushing newbuild prices ever closer to historic highs, the finance house said, adding that the average newbuild price index has risen by 4% over the past six months and is close to at the highs of the 2007-2008 period.
Chinese and South Korean shipyards are the main beneficiaries, securing the lion’s share of new orders. Chinese yards are expected to deliver most of the new tankers, while top South Korean yards will be busy building large LNG and container ships for years to come.
- Containers
The already record high order volume (in terms of tonnage) held, in 2023, the signing of new contracts to the decade average (6% of the fleet) reports Danish Ship Finance.
The order book of around 800 vessels is spread across 80 yards, but is concentrated in major first-tier shipyards in China and South Korea. The top ten shipyards build 55% of the ships ordered. Container ships account for 23% of the global order book, measured in cgt.
- Dry bulk cargo
Shipbuilding contracts in the dry bulk sector have remained at an average level since 2017. Last year, new orders amounted to 5% of the fleet. Current orders (around 1,200 ships – 9% of the fleet) are spread across 100 yards, with the top ten yards building 50%.
The bulk carrier order book is currently at a historically low level and represents 17% of the world’s global order book.
- Natural gas trucks
With the order book already at around 55% of the fleet, the order placement of LNG Carriers has fallen over the last year to 10% of the fleet. Meanwhile, orders for LPG Carriers reached record levels (18% of the fleet). There are 32 shipyards building the nearly 600 Gas Carriers on order, with the three largest claiming 60% and the top ten 90%. 29% of the global order book is dedicated to Gas Carriers.
- Tankers
After the historically low level of 2022 (1% of the fleet), new tanker orders rebounded in 2023 to higher levels (at 5% of the fleet). About 500 orders for new ships were placed, with the majority placed in Chinese shipyards. The 800 ships on order are spread over about 100 shipyards, with the ten largest building 50%. Tanker orders represent 14% of the global order book.
- Trends
From the beginning of 2023, the annual available capacity at the yards has increased by 6 million cgt to 59 million cgt. Active shipyard capacity today is spread between approximately 314 shipyards building vessels larger than 2,000 dwt, compared to 290 shipyards in 2022. Tier 1 shipyards accounted for approximately 75% of total deliveries in 2023. Finally, an additional 1,800 were ordered in 2023 ships distributed among 190 shipyards of which 75 are first class. In April 2024, the order book stands at 127 million cgt.
