Japanese ship orders down

Export ship orders in Japan dropped for the 10th consecutive month in July on a year-on-year basis, tumbling 63.2% to 950,820 gross tons, according to figures released by the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association. The pace of decline, however, was the slowest since October last year when the global financial turmoil began to take its toll on the real economy.

In July, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for 14 export ships comprising ten bulk carriers totalling 397,920 gross tons, three oil tankers totalling 480,900 gross tons and one general cargo vessel of 72,000 gross tons. The 14 ships total 344,394 cgt.

During the January-July period of this year, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for 69 export ships totalling 3,294,570 gross tons, down by 76.3% from the same seven-month period last year. Of the 69 ships, 50 are bulk carriers totalling 1,860,820 gross tons, 15 are oil tankers totalling 1,275,750 gross tons, two are general cargo vessels totalling 144,000 gross tons and the remaining two are other ships totalling 14,000 gross tons. The 69 ships total 1,499,774 cgt.