Definition: Compensated gross ton (CGT)

Category: PRODCOM

Compensated gross ton (CGT) refers to the comparative work content inherent in building the ship. It is based on the gross tonnage, which is modified by a compensation factor relating to the complexity of the building process. The CGT system was developed in the 1960s by the OECD in co-operation with the Association of West European Shipbuilders (AWES) and the Shipbuilders Association of Japan. The system was needed because gross tonnage alone is not adequate as an indicator of work content or capacity in shipbuilding. Relative work content varies by size and type of ship. One gross ton of a passenger ship, for example, with its sophisticated accommodation and public spaces, contains a significantly greater level of work content than one gross ton of a bulk carrier which is effectively little more than a large steel box with an engine on the back. One CGT of either ship on the other hand should contain roughly equivalent work content. The system has now been highly developed and is fundamental to the analysis of shipbuilding activity
Source: First Marine International Limited, "Overview of the international commercial shipbuilding industry, Background report", disseminated on the Web site of Directorate-General "Enterprise and Industry" of the European Commission, May 2003

Compensated gross tonnage (CGT) is a unit of measurement intended to provide a common yardstick to reflect the relative output of merchant shipbuilding activity in large aggregates such as "World", "Regions" or "Groups of many yards"
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), "A New Compensated Gross Ton (CGT) System", Council Working Party on Shipbuilding, May 2006 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/coded_files/CGT_first_marine_int_ltd.pdf OECD, "A New Compensated Gross Ton (CGT) System"