Another Brutal Year for Korean Shipyards?

 

"January is usually an off-season for shipbuilders, but it is the first time that the major players have received no orders for the month," a source said.

 

Last year,  Koreas's big three - Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. - clinched orders worth US$1.8 billion.

 

With oil prices forecast to fall as low as $15 a barrel and China’s growth slowing, orders for  new vessels are hard to come by. As the industry struggles with overcapacity and low rates, customers have been pushing back delivery schedules or canceling orders outright, a trend likely to continue this year.

 

Chinese rivals have scooped up a large slice of orders for smaller ships in particular.

 

In line with a protracted industrywide slump, the shipyards have trimmed their order targets for the year by 20 percent.

 

The three are expecting to win some $37 billion worth of new orders this year, compared with last year's $47 billion, according to the sources.