China Leads Global Shipbuilding Market for 16th Straight Year

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported that China's shipbuilding industry held the world's largest market share across three primary indicators for the 16th consecutive year in 2025. Shipbuilding output reached 53.69 million deadweight tons (DWT), an 11.4 percent year-on-year increase, representing 56.1 percent of the global market.

New orders totaled 107.82 million DWT, capturing 69 percent of the global share. While this maintains a global lead, it marks a decline from a 74.1 percent share in 2024. Order backlogs reached a new high of 274.42 million DWT, a 31.5 percent increase from the previous year, accounting for 66.8 percent of the global total.

The sector has transitioned toward high-end manufacturing, leading in new orders for 16 of 18 major vessel types. This includes breakthroughs in green propulsion, intelligent navigation, and complex vessels such as large cruise ships and liquefied natural gas carriers. Six Chinese companies ranked among the global top 10 for completions, new orders, and backlogs.

This dominance persists despite industry turbulence and threats from the United States targeting the Chinese maritime sector. During this period, South Korea's share of new orders rose to 21.6 percent, while Japan's share fell to 6.2 percent.