New container ship orders have reached a record high exceeding 10 million TEU, primarily constructed by Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese shipbuilders, with Chinese shipbuilders holding the largest market share.
Alphaliner’s weekly data shows that Chinese shipbuilders are building 7.36 million TEUs of container ships, accounting for 73.7% of the total orderbook. South Korean shipbuilders rank second with 2.04 million TEUs under construction, accounting for 20.4%. Japanese shipbuilders rank third with 430,000 TEUs, accounting for 4.3%. Aside from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese shipbuilders, only 29 container ships are on order in other shipbuilding countries/regions.
In recent years, Chinese shipbuilders have rapidly emerged as major players in the global container ship sector, a trend clearly evidenced by comparing the composition of their orders with the construction locations of the active fleet.
Currently, 50.1% of the container ship fleet was built in South Korea, with a capacity of 16.4 million TEU; 29.4% was constructed by Chinese shipyards, boasting a capacity of 9.6 million TEU; 9.9% originated from Japanese shipyards, with a capacity of 3.2 million TEU; and 10.7% was built by other countries, totaling a capacity of 3.5 million TEU.
Apart from the three major Asian shipbuilding powers, other countries have largely been squeezed out of the container ship construction market. Among the 29 container ships currently under construction by other shipbuilding nations/regions worldwide, 16 are being built by shipbuilders in Taiwan, China, 4 by Turkish shipbuilders, and 3 by U.S. shipbuilders.
Alphaliner commented: “Container shipowners often have specific reasons for choosing shipbuilders outside the ‘Big Three’ shipbuilding nations: the two largest ships (4,012 TEU) ordered by Turkish shipyards were built by a shipyard affiliated with the owner-operator.
Orders for U.S. shipyards are clearly driven by the requirements of the Jones Act, which mandates that tonnage built in the United States must be used for domestic routes to and from Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.”