Chinese shipbuilders have continued to see dwindling new vessel orders in the first 11 months of this year as the industry is challenged by a prolonged slump.

From January to November 2015, China’s shipyards recorded newbuilding orders with tonnage totalling 23.19m dwt, down 59.1% compared to the previous corresponding period, according to statistics released by China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi).

In the first 11 months, the shipyards completed a combined new vessel tonnage of 36.2m, up 10.9% compared to the same period of last year, Cansi figures showed.

As at 30 November 2015, the shipbuilders sat on an order backlog of 129.39m dwt, down 15.1% year-on-year and down 13.4% compared to the end of 2014.

Cansi also monitors 88 main Chinese shipyards, showing that their combined completed newbuilding tonnage was valued at RMB380bn ($58.62m) in the first 11 months, representing an increase of 4.1% compared to the year-ago period.

Shipbuilding accounted for RMB181bn of the total of RMB380bn, while equipment and ship repair accounted for RMB30bn and RMB11.8bn respectively.

From January to November this year, the 88 main shipyards achieved a total revenue of RMB268bn, a decline of 1.5% compared to the same period of 2014. Profit also fell by 23.4% year-on-year to RMB3.6bn due primarily to lower newbuilding prices and higher costs of production.