During the period from January to June of this year, new orders for export ship won by Japanese shipbuilding industry recorded 166 vessels of combined 7.03m gross tons (3.32m cgt), increasing twice as many as a year ago, and reached the highest record since 2008 of global financial crisis.
It is said that the result is attributable to such factors as enhanced price competitiveness backed by a weak yen, overseas owners' expanding needs for eco-friendly and high-efficiency vessels and so on.
According to data from Japan Ship Exporters' Association on July 18, orders for bulker recorded 146 vessels in total, accounting for 90% of total while orders for capesize bulker reached 21.
Vessels for overseas owners recorded five times as many as a year ago with 99 units, accounting for a significant ratio.
Meanwhile, export declaration record which is equivalent to delivery from January to June was 166 vessels of combined 7.42m gross tons, declining by 23% from the same period a year ago.
As of the end of June, Japanese shipbuilding industry was standing on 572 vessels of 25.63m gross tons on its orderbook, showing a decreasing trend which was not seen for the past four months.