Japan posts first on-year rise in new ship orders in Aug

Japan’s new vessel orders posted the first on-year rise in August, up 4.6% on year to 579,400 gross tonnes or nine vessels, according to new data released by the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association (JSEA) on September 9, though the market sources suspect this to be sustainable, and thus little support to steel plate consumption.

The new orders in August were up 23.3% on month, though for January-August, the total 3.99 million gross tons was still down 32% on year, according to the data. Japan’s new vessel orders hit the bottom in April when it dropped by 70.5% on year and down 66.6% on month to 221,550 gross