China stays top on global shipbuilding ranks

China maintained its top position in shipbuilding in the first quarter of 2023, receiving 15.18 million deadweight tons of new orders, up 53 percent year-on-year.

China's shipbuilding sector continued to take the lead globally in all major indictors including output, new orders and holding orders, the official WeChat account of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on Wednesday.

Output of the country's shipbuilders accounted for 43.5 percent of the world's total, or 9.17 million DWT in the first three months, down 4.6 percent year-on-year. Output is a gauge reflecting the vitality of the sector.

New shipbuilding orders, another major metric of the industry, surged 53 percent year-on-year to 15.18 million DWT during the same period, which accounted for 62.9 percent of the global market.

Holding order volumes came in at 114.52 million DWT by the end of March, rising 15.6 percent from the year prior and taking up 50.8 percent of market share globally.