Supply Chain Research

China’s shipyards saw an improvement in new orders in June with 6 million dryweight tons (mdwt) which was more than the prior three months combined. Domestic orders improved though export orders of 2.5 mdwt were inline with the prior three months’ average. The remaining orderbook is only 4% above December’s level as a result. With continued weakness in shipping rates and declining container-line profitability a turnaround in the yards’ fortunes shouldn’t be expected any time soon.