The shipbuilding industry’s faltering recovery stepped ahead in December with a 6% increase in exports from yards in China, Japan and South Korea to reach $75 billion, or 12% more than a year earlier for 2017 as a whole. South Korea did best with a 24% rise in sales for the year, though yards expect a 20% drop in 2018 despite a government push to be a “leading shipping nation”. Chinese yards saw a more modest 2% rise – export orders improved near year end but are still well below the prior year’s level. The Japanese shipbuilders, which received less support in the past year than their co...