Japan regained the title of the world's No. 1 shipbuilder in 2001, beating out rival South Korea for the first time in three years, according to industry data.
According to data from the Shipbuilders' Association of Japan and other organizations, domestic shipbuilders in 2001 received orders equivalent to 7.97 million tons on the basis of compensated gross registered tonnage -- a measurement for shipbuilding work.
The amount is 1.56 million tons more than the year before.
Orders for South Korean shipbuilders in 2001 totaled 6.41 million tons, down 3.99 million tons from the year before.
Japan won more orders as demand recovered around the world last year and as orders fell for South Korea, which had received a record high of 10.4 million tons in 2000, industry officials said.
The two are the world's major shipbuilding countries and receive about 75 percent of global orders. Japan had enjoyed the No. 1 position until 1999, when South Korea overtook it with lower prices.
Japan grabbed a 40.5 percent share of the world's shipbuilding market in the first half of 2001, while South Korea took about 34.2 percent, according to the data.