25th, October, 2007

The 16th JECKU Top Executive Meeting was held on October 25, in San Diego. Seventy senior representatives from the leading shipbuilding companies in Japan, Europe, China, Korea and the United States attended the session.

At the meeting, JECKU projected that 2007 will be the seventh consecutive year of growth in new ship deliveries worldwide, Total ship production volume completed over this period achieved an annual average growth rate of nine percent.

As with past meetings, the 2007 session comprised of open discussion on items of common interest to the world shipbuilding industry. This year’s topics included a projection of worldwide shipbuilding capacity after 2010, discussion about the continued escalation of raw material and component costs, and the impact of environmental and other international regulations surrounding shipping and shipbuilding industries.

During the meeting, member nations reported that the current shipbuilding market remains firm, which to a large extent is due to demands for new ships are being sustained by continued global economic growth, particularly within the developing nations. However, the representatives noted that the importance of balancing supply and demand of ships will play a pivotal role for the sound development of world shipbuilding industries. Globally, the pricing and availability of raw materials and components remain important issues of common concern because of their potential to greatly impact the cost and production schedules of shipbuilders.

Of particular note at this year’s meeting, the representatives remained in agreement that the shipbuilders’ perspective and expertise must be proactively provided during the development of environmental regulations that affect ship operations and construction. The JECKU membership agreed to continue supporting the activities of CESS (Committee for Expertise of Shipbuilding Specifics) that seek global rules for future work and contribute to the work of regulatory bodies and other related industries regarding shipbuilding concerns.

JECKU meetings are unique opportunities for the world’s top shipbuilding executives to meet and exchange in-depth views on the state of the industry, while developing a common understanding about its development. The next meeting will take place in Miyazaki, Japan, on November 6, 2008.


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