Chinese shipbuilders have had a rough year start with orders plunging by 75.1% during the first two months of 2016 when compared to the order intake recorded last year.

Specifically, Chinese yards received orders amounting to 950,000 dwt adding further to the prevailing woes of the market downturn in the global shipping industry and severe headwinds in the shipbuilding sector, according to China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI).

At the end of February, the country's shipbuilding orders stood at 118.98 million dwt, down by 19.4% against a corresponding period from last year and down 3.3% compared with the end of 2015.

CANSI's data show that the 51 leading shipyards, out of around 300 in the country, booked 900,000 dwt of the overall order intake in January and February 2016, 94.7% of the country's market share. The trend also shows inclination of owners to order at fewer shipyards which might lead the sector into further consolidation.

In terms of ship completion, 42 million dwt were completed in the said period, also a decline when compared to the corresponding period from 2015 worth 24.4%.

In conclusion, 94 main shipyards posted income of CNY35.7 billion (US$5.4bn), down 7.5%, whereas the total profit totaled in CNY160m, down 46.7%.