The total industrial output value of China's shipbuilding industry reached 240.6 billion yuan ($38.2 billion) in the first five months of 2012, but the growth rate was only 0.7 percent year-on-year, the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry said on Monday on its website.

China's shipbuilders finished 22.53 million dead weight tons of shipbuilding orders in the first five months this year, a decrease of 10.1 percent year-on-year. New ship orders amount to 9.54 million DWT, a fall of 47.3 percent year-on-year.

China's shipping industry faces a severe test in today's sluggish global market, China Securities Journal said on Tuesday.

The traditional shipbuilding industry is being hit hardest, according to the association. The ship equipment industry has seen growth of 27.1 percent. The marine engineering equipment manufacturing industry grew by 11.4 percent.

xieyu@chinadaily.com.cn