Shipyards deal with hard times

The world shipping market is in distress. As a result, a report from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) states China’s shipyards delivered less than 80% of their existing orders in the withering global shipping market.
A total of 70 million deadweight tonnage (DWT) of ships were scheduled for delivery in 2010, but only 56.76 million DWT were actually delivered.
Zhang Shengkun, president of the Shanghai Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers said the global financial meltdown has dealt a severe blow to the global shipbuilding industry, and many China shipbuilders’ clients had to postpone deliveries due to stringent cash flows or shrinking demand.
 ‘Although China has become the world’s largest shipbuilder, the sector can’t produce value-added, high-end products,’ Zhang said.
English People’s Daily Online reported Zhang Shengkun said, ‘China’s shipbuilders have to counteract the appreciation of the yuan and rising costs. That will be a real challenge.’