In the first half of this year, South Korea’s shipbuilding industry held a global order share of just 19%, with the gap between it and China’s shipbuilding industry widening to 53 percentage points.
While the gap in order shares had narrowed to 47 percentage points between January and May, China’s shipbuilding industry secured 85% of global orders in June alone, causing the gap to widen once again.
Latest Clarksons data shows that in June, the global shipbuilding industry received a total of 5.25 million compensated gross tonnage(CGT) in orders, a 9% decrease from the previous month, totaling 200 vessels. By country, China secured 4.45 million CGT in orders, accounting for an 85% market share, totaling 171 vessels; South Korea secured 500,000 CGT in orders, accounting for just 9% of the market, totaling 13 vessels.
From January to June of this year, the global shipbuilding industry received a total of 42.95 million CGT in orders, a 65.8% increase compared with the same period last year. Chinese shipbuilders received 31.00 million CGT in orders, a 112.6% increase compared with the same period last year, accounting for a 72% market share. South Korean shipbuilders received 7.97 million CGT in orders, a 60.0% increase compared with the same period last year, accounting for a 19% market share.
As of the end of June, the global shipbuilding industry’s total order backlog stood at 206.59 million CGT, of which China accounted for 134.03 million CGT (a 65% market share) and South Korea accounted for 38.81 million CGT (a 19% market share).
Newbuilding prices continue to rise overall. As of the end of June 2026, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index stood at 185.15, up 0.14 points from the previous month.
By vessel type, the price of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier (174,000-cubic-meter class) stood at $248.5 million, down $6.5 million from the same period last year; Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs, 315,000–320,000 DWT) are priced at $130.5 million, up $4.5 million year-over-year; Very Large Container Ships (22,000–24,000 TEU class) are priced at $261.5 million, down $11.5 million from a year ago.