China dominates global shipbuilding orders, report says

However, the country’s shipyards face a capacity test after an order book surge.

China has positioned itself as the world's leading shipbuilding nation, accounting for 64% of the global shipyard order book as of 1 September 2026, according to BIMCO.

The global order book reached an estimated 203.2 million Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT), up 13% year on year.

Although slightly below the record 210.4 million CGT recorded in May 2026, it remains above the previous high of 195.4 million CGT in 2008.

Chinese shipyards secured 74% of all CGT contracted over the past 12 months, whilst South Korean and Japanese yards held 19% and 6% of the global order book, respectively.

China's dominance extends across the six main cargo-carrying ship sectors, including container ships, tankers, gas tankers, dry bulk, other dry cargo and roll-on/roll-off vessels.

Additionally, Chinese yards hold more than 72% of the order book in each sector, which together account for 88% of global orders.

Chinese shipyards have an average order book equivalent to 4.2 years of capacity, compared with 1.9 years for South Korean yards and 1.7 years for Japanese yards.

However, the industry faces significant delivery challenges as combined deliveries from China, South Korea and Japan peaked at 40.1 million CGT in 2025, but scheduled deliveries are expected to reach 55.9 million CGT in 2027 and 60 million CGT in 2028.

Chinese shipyards alone are scheduled to deliver a record 44 million CGT in 2028, nearly double the 22.7 million CGT delivered in 2025. BIMCO noted that meeting this target will require a substantial increase in annual output.

Rasmussen said Chinese shipyards would need to raise output to record levels to meet scheduled deliveries, but warned that the required capacity expansion could increase the risk of underutilisation if new orders weaken.