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BEIJING—Shipyards
in China, the world’s second-biggest builder of vessels
by order backlog, had record business in the first half,
boosted by demand for ships to transport goods
domestically and abroad.
New
orders rose 165 percent to 42.6 million deadweight tons,
increasing the backlog 107 percent to 105 million
deadweight tons as of June 30, the China Association of
the National Shipbuilding Industry said today on its web
site, citing China’s Commission of Science Technology
and Industry for National Defense.
Ship
deliveries, new orders and the backlog rose to records
in the first half as yards ran at or near full capacity
to fill surging demand for ships to carry commodities
and consumer goods inside and outside China. The
country’s two largest shipbuilders plan to double
capacity by 2010 to take on new contracts and challenge
South Korea
as the world’s top builder.
“The
national shipbuilding industry maintained powerful
momentum in the first half,’’ the association said.
China is the world’s second-biggest shipbuilder by new
orders and backlog, it said, citing London-based
shipbroker Clarkson Plc.
Deadweight tonnage measures a finished ship’s carrying
capacity for cargo, fuel and supplies and doesn’t
reflect the cost of building a vessel or its sale price.
Profit
at the shipyards surged 151 percent to 6.4 billion yuan
($845 million) as sales rose 54 percent to 80.7 billion
yuan, the association said.
China
State Shipbuilding Corp., the nation’s biggest
shipbuilder, will have potential output of 12.3 million
deadweight tons by 2010 from 6.02 million last year, and
China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., the country’s No. 2
shipbuilder, aims to boost its capacity to 10 million
deadweight tons by the same year, the companies’
directors said separately in April. (Bloomberg) |
