China has witnessed a decline of 44 percent in new shipping orders on a yearly basis during the January-November period, compared with a fall of 37 percent worldwide, and analysts predict a continuation in the downward trend over the next two years given the sluggish shipping industry around the globe.

According to a report by shipping research company Clarkson Research Studies, in the past 11 months China has won ship building orders with a dead weight of 54.26 million tons. South Korea recorded 65.97 million tons, while Japan registered only 17.92 million tons.

The sharp decrease in China is attributed partly to the slackened shipping industry worldwide and partly to the category of ships the nation specializes in building. Chinese ship manufacturing companies excel at producing bulk freighters but demand for this type has fallen significantly in the last year.

Analysts said the global shipping sector has entered into crisis but that the ship manufacturing industry will face even harder times in years to come.

The report also shows that China, South Korea and Japan are the top three ship manufacturing nations worldwide, whose ship manufacturing in 2007 accounted for 23, 33 and 28 percent respectively of the worldwide total.