Mitsubishi Manufactures Wind Turbines
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has begun manufacturing the basic structure of wind turbines at the Nagasaki Shipyard, where excess capacity exists. This is because MHI’s specialty LNG carriers are monopolized by Korean manufacturers and MHI is not receiving orders. Now, they take on non-shipbuilding jobs and help maintain the employment of the shipyard. Their Nagasaki Shipyard started manufacturing the basic structure that supports large wind turbines. Since the shipyard has a space for handling large parts of the ship, it can also be used to manufacture wind turbines.
The Nagasaki Shipyard will also begin repairs to a large cruise ship at Nagasaki Port. Cruise ships that travel around Asia were mainly repaired in Singapore, but if they could be repaired in Nagasaki, which is closer to the tour area, there are advantages such as shortening the travel time of the ship.
The government plans to double the number of cruise passengers in 2020 by 5 million compared to 2018, and the use of wealthy people, especially in China, is increasing. The cruise ship terminal is adjacent to the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard, so it is possible to repair the ship within 1-2 weeks when passengers land.
In the shipbuilding industry, the world’s construction volume in 2018 was 58.86 million gross tons, a 13% decrease from 2017, and the business environment is severe. South Korea ’s top two companies, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine, and Hyundai Heavy Industries have decided to integrate and are strengthening their low-price offensive.
Orders for LNG and other large-sized vessels that MHI is good at have been taken away by Korean manufacturers, and a decline in the operating rate of the shipyard has become a concern.
Source: The Nikkei Read The Article
PSR Analysis: The Japanese shipbuilding industry is desperately working through the prolonged shipbuilding recession. Japan’s shipbuilding industry has a large working population and functions as a place for employment. China and South Korea are supporting the shipbuilding industry in their own country, and Japan is in a position to follow them.
Global demand is extremely limited and is almost met in Korea and China. Rising global demand is important for Japanese shipbuilding orders, but the outlook is extremely bleak. The power balance of Korea, China and Japan will continue for about 10 years. Japan can no longer afford to wait for new shipbuilding orders until the economy improves, and the Japanese shipbuilding industry may be required to survive without relying on the construction of new ships. PSR
