It also ignited this industry, becoming the world's number one! China exported 1.07 million cars in the first quarter | transport ships | China
In the first quarter of this year, China exported 1.07 million vehicles, surpassing Japan for the first time and becoming the world's largest automobile exporter. The significant growth in automobile exports has driven international automobile transport ships to be in high demand, with shipping companies and car companies taking action to book ships. Previously, no shipyard in China was able to build large car roll on/roll off ships, but now, Chinese shipbuilding companies are seizing rare market opportunities and achieving zero breakthroughs. China took on 88.4% of the global orders for 74 car transport ships last year.
Difficulty in Holding Orders and Going Abroad
China's automobile exports are hot due to the tropical trend of shipbuilding
Taicang Port in Jiangsu, located 60 kilometers from the mouth of the Yangtze River, is the largest port in Jiangsu's foreign trade. On May 23rd, a massive roll on/roll off cargo ship arrived at port, with over 130 vehicle dockers on standby and over 4300 cars about to be loaded onto the ship for shipment to Europe.
Behind the overload and busyness of the shuttle workers is the explosive increase in China's automobile exports in recent years. According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2020, China exported 1.082 million vehicles; In 2021, it reached 2.015 million vehicles; In 2022, it reached 3.111 million vehicles. In the first quarter of this year, China exported 1.07 million vehicles, surpassing Japan for the first time and becoming the world's largest automobile exporter.
With the surge in car exports, the "troubles" of happiness come with it. Car transport ships are hard to find, and the rent has repeatedly hit new highs. In order to increase transportation capacity, it can be said that the Eight Immortals cross the sea, each displaying their divine abilities. The freight company at Taicang Port in Jiangsu even renovated the pulp ship from South America, which was originally supposed to return empty, to transform the pulp ship that was originally out of stock into a car transport ship.
Liu Tiebin, Operations Manager of Taicang International Container Terminal: Each hatch can reach a loading capacity of 8 layers, and the maximum capacity of the entire ship is 2500 vehicles.
However, even so, it still cannot meet the rapidly growing demand for automobile export transportation.
Guangzhou Port is also busy transporting cars abroad. Guangzhou Port Nansha Automobile Port is the largest professional car roll on/roll off terminal in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. In 2022, the export of automobiles from Guangzhou Port exceeded 100000, a year-on-year increase of over 300%. From January to April this year, the export of automobiles from Guangzhou Port increased by over 90% year-on-year.
It is understood that there are approximately 700 automobile transport ships worldwide, and those operated by Chinese shipowners account for less than 10% of the total global transportation capacity. Compared to the continuous surge in automobile exports, it is obvious that there is a serious shortage of transportation capacity. In order to make up for this "shortcoming", shipping companies are intensifying their layout, and many shipping and automobile manufacturing companies are taking the initiative to book ships.
From zero to one
Key Technologies for Chinese Ships to Crack Large Vehicle Ro Ro Ships
At Guangzhou Shipbuilding International, the reporter boarded a car roll on/roll off ship that could carry about 7000 cars. This car transport ship has a total length of 200 meters, a width of 38 meters, a total height of 42 meters, and 13 decks, making it a "giant" at sea. To the surprise of the reporter, this "giant" actually has a very thin skin.
The steel plate used to build this car roll on/roll off ship is only 6 millimeters thick, less than one-third the diameter of a five cent coin, and the weight of a small car exceeds one ton. At the same time, in order to facilitate the movement of cars, the car transport ship adopts a column structure inside the cabin, lacking a "load-bearing wall", which puts forward strict requirements for the stability of the deck.
To ensure the stability of the thin plate, workers will weld rows of longitudinal bones and T-beams on the thin plate. In order to ensure the stability of the T-beam, they also specially designed a set of "anti deformation" processes. Under the guidance of the engineer, the workers heated some parts of the T-beam with a spray gun. Under the action of thermal expansion and contraction, the T-beam becomes a curved structure with a high center and low sides.
To build a ship that is truly suitable for automobile transportation, one also faces enormous challenges in internal structural design. A car transport ship with 7000 standard parking spaces has 126 movable decks, while a passenger roll on/roll off ship of the same specifications only has 20 to 30 movable decks. A large number of movable decks pose significant challenges to design, installation, and debugging.
To solve this problem, R&D personnel need to create 3D models as small as a steel wire rope or a screw, with the threads on the bolts clearly visible.
Since 2021, China Shipbuilding Group has undertaken a total of 35 orders for 7000 to 9200 series of automotive transport ships, accounting for 27% of the global market share. In the field of manufacturing large automobile transport ships, the Chinese shipbuilding industry has achieved a historic leap from catching up to running parallel.
