Chinese shipbuilding volume up

China’s completed shipbuilding volume increased 72% to 40.37 million deadweight tons in the first eight months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said that during the period, shipbuilding volume reached 44.51 million dwt, 4.1 times higher than the orders received last year. Logistics Week reports that China’s domestic shipbuilding order book by the end of August stood at 194 million dwt, up 3.1% compared with the same period in 2009.