China ship order backlogs fall 8.4% from year ago by end-Jul

SHANGHAI, Aug 22 (SMM) – The order backlog held by Chinese shipyards dropped 8.4% from a year earlier and 8.3% from the end of 2018 to 81.9 million deadweight tons (DWT) as of the end of July, according to figures that the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry released earlier this week.

In the first seven months of this year, Chinese shipbuilders received new orders totaling 14.7 million DWT, down 38.9% from the same period last year, while vessel construction completion rose 1.4% to 22.11 million DWT.