Shipbuilders will likely be keen to see the back of 2019. It has been a lean year for new orders and is likely to result in the majority of them missing their order targets.
The figures make for grim reading. At the close of the third quarter, the global orderbook had shrunk by 16% since the start of the year, according to shipbroker Clarksons, while contracting was down 42% year-on-year in deadweight terms on an annualised basis.
