China Retained Top Spot in Global Shipbuilding in 2025

China continued to lead the global shipbuilding industry in 2025, maintaining the largest market share across major metrics for the 16th year in a row, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The data showed that Chinese shipyards produced a total of 53.69 million deadweight tonnes (DWT) during the year, representing an 11.4 percent increase compared with 2024. That output accounted for 56.1 percent of worldwide shipbuilding production.

China also remained dominant in new ship orders. Contracts signed in 2025 reached 107.82 million DWT, giving Chinese yards a 69 percent share of all global newbuild orders.

In addition, China held the largest backlog of shipbuilding work. By the end of December 2025, outstanding orders at Chinese shipyards totaled 274.42 million DWT, marking a 31.5 percent increase year on year. This figure represented 66.8 percent of the global orderbook.

According to the ministry, China’s strong results across production, new orders, and existing contracts further reinforced its position as the world’s leading shipbuilding nation.