Shipbuilding is one of the most important manufacturing and pillar industries in South Korea, and also a major exporter for the country's foreign trade, generating huge trade surpluses for Korea each year. In previous years, the export value and foreign trade surplus of the Korean shipbuilding industry ranked first among Korea's seven major export industries for several consecutive years. Ship export amounts were $46.7 billion and $54.1 billion in 2010 and 2011 respectively, but fell below $40 billion in 2012. Therefore, movements in the shipbuilding market tug at Korea's sensitive "economic nerves." At the end and beginning of each year, the "gains and losses" of the ship market become a hot topic for analysis and forecasting within Korean industry circles.
   　 Forecast: Ship Market Expected to Improve but Remains Depressed in the Short Term
   　 The outlook from South Korean financial and related industry circles for the international shipbuilding market in 2013 is generally cautious, but most believe that the ship market in 2013 will be better than in 2012. The "weather map" for South Korea's pillar export industries published by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) shows that the shipbuilding industry experienced "rainy" conditions in 2012, which will change to "cloudy" in 2013, moving up one level on the weather scale. An analysis by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), a major South Korean business conglomerate organization, suggests that although the shipbuilding and maritime markets will improve slightly compared to 2012, it will still be difficult to escape the shadow of slow global economic growth and the European debt crisis. Most market analysts and researchers from several major South Korean securities firms believe that while the ship market may see slight improvement, the overall sluggish state of the shipbuilding industry will persist. Market order volume will increase slightly compared to 2012, but shipbuilders' total order backlogs may decline, the current low ship prices are unlikely to improve, and the market value of listed Korean shipbuilding stocks may decrease.
    　 A study commissioned by South Korea's Chosun Ilbo from ENGIDE, a Korean securities industry information company, shows that profits of major Korean shipbuilders will decline in 2013. The study argues that due to the European fiscal crisis leading to negative economic growth in EU member states, the financing capacity of Europe—the center of the international ship financing market—is continuously shrinking, which will make it difficult for new ship orders to increase significantly. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), on the other hand, believes that several major Korean shipbuilders will strengthen their market capture efforts in offshore equipment and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Global oil and gas development, particularly the large-scale development of shale gas and natural gas in the United States, will drive an increase in LNG carrier orders.
 　   In comparison, the market outlook from major Korean shipbuilders is described by the Korean media as "cautious." Lee Jae-sung, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries, stated: "The economic downturn in developed countries will continue, the economic growth rate of developing countries will also slow down, and the world economy has entered a low-growth phase, making our business environment more difficult. Markets in major sectors such as shipbuilding will struggle to emerge from the downturn in the short term."
    　The chairman of the Korea Shipbuilders' Association is concurrently held by Koh Jae-ho, CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. On January 10, the Korea Shipbuilders' Association held the 2013 New Year's gathering for the Korean shipbuilding industry. At the gathering, Koh Jae-ho presented his outlook for the international shipbuilding market this year, stating that the world economy has entered a phase of low-speed growth, and international trade growth has slowed significantly. The average annual growth rate of world trade in previous years was around 6%, but last year and this year it will fluctuate around the 2.5-2.6% level, which will inevitably lead to slower growth in logistics volume in the maritime market, directly impacting the shipbuilding sector. He said: "It is expected that this year will be the most difficult year for Korea's ship exports and new order intake since the financial crisis. The overall market environment prevents us from 'relaxing our state of alert' or easing off at all."
  　  Apart from the above two major shipbuilders, the Korean shipbuilding industry's forecast for this year's market is that although the world economy is sluggish, it may begin to improve in the second half of the year. Therefore, the shipbuilding market is very likely to show a "low in the first half, high in the second half" trend. Although merchant ship capacity is excessive, the market for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly merchant ships looks promising. Korean shipbuilders have certain technological advantages over competitors in this field, so they hope to achieve success in securing orders for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly merchant ships. Additionally, the Korean shipbuilding industry has greater confidence in securing orders for offshore equipment.
In domestic manufacturing, especially in industrial fields such as assembly, dispensing, material handling, and welding, robot applications have become a hot trend. Some well-known enterprises have already begun extensively applying robots, including Huawei, ZTE, and BYD. Foxconn has also suspended recruitment to develop its "Million Robots" strategy. All of this indicates that robots are advancing into China's manufacturing sector and are becoming a major development trend.
Furthermore, the State Council's release of the "12th Five-Year Plan for National Strategic Emerging Industries" has also driven the development of the Chinese market. Robots are being utilized in hospitals, homes, and some service industries to accelerate industrial upgrading. This huge market has also attracted eager attention from both domestic and foreign enterprises.
Although the application fields for robots in China are broad, looking at China's robotics sector, 80% of the market share is still held by multinational corporations. This situation urgently needs to be changed, and such a promising market also represents a good opportunity for the development of Chinese enterprises. Currently, many local governments have introduced corresponding policies, including Shanghai, Kunshan, Tangshan, and Chongqing, to attract R&D and manufacturing enterprises, striving to build local robotics industries and compete for a share of the robot market.
The usage of industrial robots in China is increasing daily, and the market demand for robots has greatly increased. It is expected to reach 35,000 units by 2015, making China the world's largest market. Coupled with China's current structural labor shortage and rising manufacturing labor costs, these factors are driving the development of China's robotics industry. Moreover, the demand for manufacturing transformation and upgrading enables industrial robots to accelerate their development.
Currently, robots are mainly used in manufacturing, as well as in areas such as coal brick-making, concrete machinery, hospitals, homes, some service industries, military applications, scientific research, and aerospace. Although China's robotics industry is poised to develop rapidly, the lack of independent capabilities in key robot components—such as servo motors, reducers, controllers, and sensors—presents a challenge that China's robotics industry must face in its development.

(Source: Internet)