China's flourishing shipbuilding industry is expected to need 13 million tons of steel this year, a record new high demand for steel, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) and the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI).

Representatives from the two associations announced the figure during a symposium on steel demand and supply to the shipbuilding industry in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Thursday.

At the symposium, 23 leading domestic shipbuilders inked 23 purchase agreements with 10 key marine steel manufacturers across China.

"The steel industry is adapting to the new requirements for shipbuilding steel plates and for developing new varieties. These contracts also reflect the strengthening breadth and depth of cooperation between the shipbuilding and steel industries in recent years," said Luo Tiejun, vice president of the CISA.

China's shipbuilding industry has taken the global lead in three major categories in the first half of 2023, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

From January to July this year, Chinese shipbuilding output mounted to 21.13 million deadweight tons (dwt), up 14.2 percent year on year.

New orders rose 67.7 percent year on year to 37.67 million dwt, and the sector's holding orders totaled 123.77 million dwt at the end of June, expanding 20.5 percent year on year.

Shipbuilders' demand for steel has maintained a steady growth rate in the first six months of the year - with steel consumption topping 7 million tons and projected to exceed 13 million tons for the full year.

The increasing order volume for high value-added ships, has also led to major improvements in the supply capacity for high-end steel for shipbuilding.

"The localization of the shipbuilding industry is closely related to the iron and steel industry. Now, 95 percent of the various steel products used in China's shipbuilding industry can be supplied domestically and we are looking forward to an ever closer union between the shipbuilding and steel industries," explained Wu Qiang, executive vice president of the CANSI.

Source: CCTV