Shipbuilding is a battlefield. No sooner has one nation established itself as the champion, than another is challenging for the crown. First it was Britain against the Continent; then Japan versus Europe; and recently South Korea versus Japan. No prizes for guessing what comes next. China is making a massive challenge for the Shipbuilding title. After creeping up to orders of 2 million cgt in 2002, in 2003 contracting shot up to 6.1 million cgt. This puts China in the big-time stakes, as shown by the pie chart of orders so far this year. South Korea heads the bill with 40 percent, Japan has 24 percent, Europe 18 percent and China comes 4th, with a very respectable 14 percent. South Korea may still be way ahead, but there is no doubt that China is now a player.
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