Labour-intensive shipbuilding industry employing robots to cut costs

A robot invasion is underway in one of the last labor-intensive industries -- shipbuilding.

In search of lower costs and speedier construction times, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. are embracing automation to build critical sections of their giant container ships, some of which extend 400 meters (430 yards) in length.

Boosting productivity is mission critical in an industry that needs about 200 people to build one vessel and faces severe pricing pressure. A sharp drop in oil since the second half of 2014, when a barrel of oil fetched more than $100 compared with