China’s shipbuilding industry seems to be recovering from a plunge it took since the beginning of the year, according to the data provided by the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI).

Chinese 87 major shipbuilders recorded a growth in turnover of 9.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) amounting to RMB 263.7bn in the first eight months of this year. The said shipyards recorded CNY 111.6 billion in exports during the same period, 4.5% more than in the same period in 2013.

According to CANSI, the gross output of ship manufacturing increased by 4.1% to RMB 129.5bn. The newbuilding market saw a 38% YoY surge in orders amounting to 45.54 million deadweight tons.

At the end of August, there was a total of 153.7m DWT on order at Chinese shipbuilding enterprises, CANSI data showed.

However, newbuilds intended for export totalled 19.07m DWT, down 7.3% y-o-y. These exports recorded a 4.5% increase in value comparing to 2013, worth RMB 111.6bn.

What is more, the output of completed ships fell 9.6% year on year to 20.92 million deadweight tonnes in the said period.

The ship repair and ship equipment sectors also saw a boost in their respective turnovers in the said period. The gross output of the ship equipment industry rose by 15.8% y-o-y to RMB 21.5bn, whereas gross output of the ship repair sector increased 14.4% y-o-y to RMB 8.44bn.

China has launched an ambitious campaign to combat overcapacity in its shipbuilding market. The country has issued the first batch of companies that made it to the White List of companies eligible for favourable policy support.

China is also planning to boost its shipbuilding capacity with respect to construction of more complex ships such as LNG carriers and offshore vessels.