Only half of shipbuilding capacity utilized

Overcapacity continues to erode China's shipbuilding industry, and from January to September the utilization rate was in the region of 50 percent, sources said.

Only about 50 to 55 percent of the nation's shipbuilding capacity was used in the first three quarters this year, down about 20 percentage points for 2012, the China Securities Journal reported on Friday.

Bao Zhangjing, Director of China Shipbuilding Industry Research Center estimated that up to 30 percent capacity will be cut by 2015 compared with 2011.

From January to September, China's shipyards have completed 30.61 million deadweight tonnage orders, a plunge of 26.4 percent over the same period last year, according to the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry.

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