JAPAN SHIPBUILDERS SEEK CARTEL TO RESTRICT OUTPUT

  Japanese shipbuilders have applied to the
  state's Fair Trade Commission to form a cartel to restrict
  tonnage built to about half of total capacity for the year
  starting April 1, officials of the Shipbuilders Association of
  Japan said.
      Under the plan, 33 yards capable of building ships of more
  than 10,000 gross tons will curtail operations to three mln
  compensated gross registered tonnes (CGRT) a year against
  capacity of about six mln CGRT.
      The Transport Ministry estimates new orders at 3.3 mln CGRT
  in the year to March 1988 and 3.1 mln the following year.
      The industry has curtailed production due to oversupply
  nearly every year since 1977/78, under cartel or Transport
  Ministry guidelines. The latest guidelines call for a ceiling
  of four mln CGRT in the year to March 31.
      The cartels, self-imposed and self-regulated, are not
  legally binding, but industry finds it in its own interest to
  stick to them.
      The slowdown in orders has been caused by the strong yen
  and a protracted worldwide shipbuilding slump.
  

