China shipbuilding volume grew 20%

China shipbuilding volume grew 20% China's shipbuilding industry output reached a record 14.52 million deadweight tons in 2006, making up close to one-fifth of the global total for the same year, according to a news release posted on the Ministry of Commerce Web site last week. The 2006 output was 20 percent higher than the previous year.
   According to the Chinese government, Chinas top shipbuilding giants, the China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC), and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. (CSIC), reported annual output of 6.02 million and 2.67 million deadweight tons, respectively. The rest of the market was covered by local shipbuilding companies.
   China's shipbuilding companies received new orders totaling 42.51 million dwt last year, bringing the total ship orders to 68.72 million dwt, or 24 percent of the global total.
   Last year was the 12th consecutive year that China ranked as the world's third-largest shipbuilder, following Korea and Japan. China has narrowed the distance behind Korea and Japan in output in the past two years, according to the government.
   China is expected to become the world's biggest shipbuilder by 2015, said Chen Xiaojin, general manager of CSSC.
   Zhang Guangqin, chairman of the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry, said the output of large oil tankers accounted for 51 percent of China's total shipbuilding output last year.