Only 13 ships! Bulk carrier orders plummet, Japanese shipbuilders' orders halved

Bulk carrier orders have plummeted, with Japanese shipbuilders' May orders halved, and below the same period last year for two consecutive months.

Recently, the Japan Ship Exporters' Association (JSEA) released the latest data on Japanese shipbuilders' order intake for May 2025. In May 2025, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for a total of 13 vessels with 884,100 GT, a decrease of 48% compared to 35 vessels and 1.701 million GT in the same period of 2024. This is the second consecutive month that Japanese shipbuilders' order intake has been below 1 million GT, following 627,450 GT in April.

By ship type, the 13 new ship orders received by Japanese shipbuilders in May included 2 container ships totaling 286,000 GT, 9 bulk carriers (3 handysize, 2 supramax, and 4 Capesize) totaling 551,300 GT, and 2 chemical tankers totaling 46,800 GT.

In the first five months of this year, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for a total of 71 vessels with 3,667,750 GT, a year-on-year decrease of 29.8%. By ship type, this includes 7 cargo ships with 557,680 GT, higher than 8 vessels and 130,000 GT in the same period last year; 58 bulk carriers with 2,704,440 GT, lower than 92 vessels and 4,199,950 GT in the same period last year; 5 tankers with 405,150 GT, lower than 17 vessels and 896,350 GT in the same period last year; and 1 other vessel with 480 GT.

A major factor in the decline in Japanese shipbuilders' order intake this year is the sharp drop in global bulk carrier orders, while bulk carriers have always been the main type of vessel ordered by Japanese shipbuilders. According to Clarkson's data, global new bulk carrier orders in the first five months of this year totaled 57 vessels with 4.68 million DWT, compared to 308 vessels with approximately 24.58 million DWT in the same period last year. Specifically, from February to April, monthly bulk carrier orders were less than 10 vessels.

On the other hand, the delivery slots of major Japanese shipyards are currently fully booked for the next few years, and they are facing a shortage of available shipyards. In the past few years, Japanese shipbuilders have continuously reduced production capacity and even withdrawn from the market, and the lack of shipbuilding capacity is becoming a hidden concern that restricts the future growth of Japan's shipbuilding industry.

As of the end of May this year, Japanese shipbuilders had a total backlog of 620 vessels with 29.85 million GT, a slight increase from 29.51 million GT at the end of April, marking three consecutive months of growth. Currently, Japanese shipbuilders' order backlog remains high, and based on the completion volume in 2024, the existing order backlog is equivalent to approximately 3.7 years of construction.

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