China has established an “unrivaled” position in the global shipbuilding industry, characterized by massive capacity expansion starting in 2024 and dominance in new orders for major vessel types. China’s total shipbuilding capacity is projected to increase by 12% to 47.8 million deadweight tons (DWT) in 2024.
Market Dominance and Order Book
China significantly increased its global market share for new orders in 2024, particularly when measured by Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT), a unit that reflects the relative amount of work and complexity required to build a ship.
- Global New Orders (CGT): China captured 70% of the global market with 46.45 million CGT (1,711 ships).
- South Korea’s Share: South Korea received 10.98 million CGT (250 ships), equating to only a 17% market share.
- Capacity and Backlog (DWT): China’s order-to-capacity ratio reached a record high of 5.5, up from 3.8 in 2023, indicating that most Chinese shipyards are fully booked until the end of 2028.
- Segment Leadership: China ranks first in new ship orders for bulk carriers, tankers, and container ships, with analysts beginning to question South Korea’s traditional dominance in the LNG carrier market.
Top Chinese Shipbuilding Groups
China’s top five shipbuilding groups accounted for 69% of total domestic orders in 2024, with their share of the global market soaring from 33% in 2023 to 46.5% in 2024 (based on DWT).
| Rank (China) | Shipbuilding Group | Domestic Order Share (DWT) | Global Order Share (DWT) | Key Note |
| 1 | China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) | 34.2% | 23.0% | Secured 48.2 million DWT of new orders, 3.2 times the size of HD Hyundai. |
| 2 | New Times Shipbuilding (Private) | N/A | 8.3% | World’s 3rd largest shipbuilder by DWT. |
| 3 | Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group (Private) | N/A | 5.7% | World’s 4th largest shipbuilder by DWT. |
| 4 | COSCO Shipping Heavy Industries | 8.8% | 5.9% | World’s 5th largest shipbuilding group. |
| 5 | Hengli Heavy Industries (New Private) | N/A | N/A | World’s 6th largest shipbuilding group, rapidly gaining orders after acquiring STX (Dalian) Shipbuilding. |
The World’s Top Shipbuilders (CGT)
When measured by CGT (which accounts for the complexity and required work), seven of the world’s top ten monohull shipbuilders in terms of order volume in 2024 are located in China.
| Global Rank | Shipbuilder | Country | Order Volume (CGT) |
| 1 | New Times Shipbuilding | China | 4.63 million CGT |
| 2 | Hudong-Zhonghua | China | 4.17 million CGT |
| 3 | New Yangzi Shipbuilding | China | 3.43 million CGT |
| 4 | Hengli Heavy Industries | China | 2.68 million CGT |
| 5 | Samsung Heavy Industries | South Korea | 2.50 million CGT |
| 6 | Hanwha Ocean | South Korea | 2.46 million CGT |
| 7 | HD Hyundai Samho | South Korea | 2.21 million CGT |
| 8 | Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) | China | 1.80 million CGT |
| 9 | Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding | China | 1.61 million CGT |
| 10 | Jiangnan Shipyard | China | 1.55 million CGT |
China’s Global Standing (DWT and CGT)
According to the China Association of the Shipbuilding Industry (CASI), China holds commanding leads across all key metrics:
- New Orders: 74.1% (DWT) / 68.2% (CGT)
- Hand-Held Orders: 63.1% (DWT) / 55.4% (CGT)
- Completion Volume: 55.7% (DWT) / 50.3% (CGT)
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Source: iMarine News
