SteelOrbis Shanghai
According to statistics released by the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), China's demand for shipbuilding steel in 2008 will exceed 12 million mt, up 27.5 percent year on year, and in 2009 demand will surpass 16 million mt, an increase of 33.3 percent.
In 2007, China's total consumption of shipbuilding steel reached 9.41 million mt, of which 75 percent was used for the building of new ships (the remaining 25 percent being used for ship repairs, refittings, ocean engineering construction, etc.). Broken down into the various steel product varieties, the 7.11 million mt of steel used in the construction of new ships included 5.91 million mt of plate, 680,000 mt of profiles, and 520,000 mt of other kinds of steel products. In 2006, the consumption of steel used in the construction of new ships totaled 5.66 million mt, with consumption of plate, profiles and other combined steel varieties reaching 4.64 million mt, 560,000 mt, and 460,000 mt respectively.
Based on the 158.89 million dwt of shipbuilding orders on the books of Chinese enterprises, shipbuilding orders finalized in 2008 will reach 25 million dwt, rising to 40 million dwt in 2009. If the consumption of steel in ship repairing and refitting, ocean engineering construction, etc. is also taken into account, China's demand for shipbuilding steel is expected to exceed 12 million mt this year. In 2009, this figure will be over 16 million mt, and will rise to above 18 million mt in 2010. In addition, shipbuilding enterprises in the regions of the Yangtze River Delta, Bohai and the Pearl River Delta are expected to account for roughly 85 percent of shipbuilding steel consumption in China.