For the seventh consecutive month, Japanese export ship orders have nose-dived by 74% in April on a year-on-year basis as the devastation of the economic crisis knocks ship owners’ buying capacity to an absolute minimum.
According to the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association, the nation’s shipyards received orders for export ships totalling 410,170 gross tonnes in April, plunging a shocking 73.8% from the same month of last year.
Japanese shipbuilders received orders for just eight export ships in April. Seven of the vessels are bulk carriers totalling 349,770 gross tons and one is an oil tanker of 60,400 gross tons.
Despite Japan’s ranking among the top global shipbuilding nations, the negative figures certainly don’t bode well for a recovery any time soon, at least for the shipbuilding sector.
