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Global Ship & Boat Building Industry Data and Analysis
Global shipbuilding has seen geographical shifts with China continuing to be a dominant force. The country has leveraged government subsidies to modernize its shipyards and bolstered its technological capabilities. This has allowed Chinese shipbuilders to expand production volumes to compete for international contracts, especially in high-value segments like LNG carriers and cruise ships. While other North Asian powerhouses like South Korea and Japan remain competitive they continue to face more pressure from China's rapid expansion and lower production costs. Nonetheless, global shipbuilding has remained mostly stagnant, falling at a CAGR of 0.1% through 2025, reaching $214.2 billion, including a 0.3% uptick in 2025 alone. Profit has also pushed up slightly during the same period, thanks to lower wage costs.
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What's included in this industry analysis
IBISWorld's research coverage on the Global Ship & Boat Building industry includes market sizing, forecasting, data and analysis from 2015-2030. The most recent publication was released November 2025.
About this industry
What's this industry report about?
The Global Ship & Boat Building industry operates under the industry code C2541-GL. This industry encompasses the construction of commercial vessels, warships, fishing boats, floating structures like docks and platforms and hovercraft (excluding recreational types). Maintenance, repair of ships and ship-breaking are excluded from this industry. Related terms covered in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry include deadweight tons (dwt), compensated gross tonnage (cgt), transom, twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu) and order book.
What's included in this industry?
Products and services covered in Global Ship & Boat Building industry include Military vessels, Non-military vessels and Modifications and conversions.
What companies are included in this industry?
Companies covered in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry include Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd.
Performance
What's included in the Performance chapter?
The Performance chapter covers detailed analysis, datasets, detailed current performance, sources of volatility and an outlook with forecasts for the Global Ship & Boat Building industry.
Questions answered in this chapter include what's driving current industry performance, what influences industry volatility, how do successful businesses overcome volatility, what's driving the industry outlook. This analysis is supported with data and statistics on industry revenues, costs, profits, businesses and employees.
Products & Markets
What's included in the Products and Markets chapter?
The Products and Markets chapter covers detailed product and service segmentation, analysis of major markets and international trade data for the for the Global Ship & Boat Building industry.
Questions answered in this chapter include how are the industry's products and services performing, what are innovations in industry products and services, what products or services do successful businesses offer and what's influencing demand from the industry's markets. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by product and service segmentation and major markets.
Geographic Breakdown
What's included in the Geographic Breakdown chapter?
The Geographic Breakdown chapter covers detailed analysis and datasets on regional performance of the Global Ship & Boat Building industry.
Questions answered in this chapter include where are industry businesses located and how do businesses use location to their advantage. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by location.
Competitive Forces
What's included in the Competitive Forces chapter?
The Competitive Forces chapter covers the concentration, barriers to entry and supplier and buyer profiles in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry. This includes data and statistics on industry market share concentration, barriers to entry, substitute products and buyer & supplier power.
Questions answered in this chapter include what impacts the industry's market share concentration, how do successful businesses handle concentration, what challenges do potential industry entrants face, how can potential entrants overcome barriers to entry, what are substitutes for industry services, how do successful businesses compete with substitutes and what power do buyers and suppliers have over the industry and how do successful businesses manage buyer & supplier power.
Companies
What's included in the Companies chapter?
The Companies chapter covers Key Takeaways, Market Share and Companies in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry. This includes data and analysis on companies operating in the industry that hold a market share greater than 5%.
Questions answered in this chapter include what companies have a meaningful market share and how each company is performing.
External Environment
What's included in the External Environment chapter?
The External Environment chapter covers Key Takeaways, External Drivers, Regulation & Policy and Assistance in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry. This includes data and statistics on factors impacting industry revenue such as economic indicators, regulation, policy and assistance programs.
Questions answered in this chapter include what demographic and macroeconomic factors impact the industry, what regulations impact the industry, what assistance is available to this industry.
Financial Benchmarks
What's included in the Financial Benchmarks chapter?
The Financial Benchmarks chapter covers Key Takeaways, Cost Structure, Financial Ratios, Valuation Multiples and Key Ratios in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry. This includes financial data and statistics on industry performance including key cost inputs, profitability, key financial ratios and enterprise value multiples.
Questions answered in this chapter include what trends impact industry costs and how financial ratios have changed overtime.
Industry Data
What's included in the Industry Data chapter?
The Industry Data chapter includes 10 years of historical data with 5 years of forecast data covering statistics like revenue, industry value add, establishments, enterprises, employment and wages in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the market size of the Global Ship & Boat Building industry in 2026?
The market size of the Global Ship & Boat Building industry is $214.2bn in 2026.
How many businesses are there in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry in 2025?
There are 3,671 businesses in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry, which has grown at a CAGR of 3.0 % between 2020 and 2025.
How may import tariffs affect the Global Ship & Boat Building industry?
The Global Ship & Boat Building industry is likely to be impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a moderate share of industry revenue.
How may export tariffs affect the Global Ship & Boat Building industry?
The Global Ship & Boat Building industry is likely to be significantly impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.
Has the Global Ship & Boat Building industry grown or declined over the past 5 years?
The market size of the Global Ship & Boat Building industry has been declining at a CAGR of 0.1 % between 2020 and 2025.
What is the forecast growth of the Global Ship & Boat Building industry over the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, the Global Ship & Boat Building industry is expected to grow.
What are the biggest companies in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry?
The biggest company operating in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry is Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd.
What does the Global Ship & Boat Building industry include?
Building barges and Building cargo ships are part of the Global Ship & Boat Building industry.
Which companies have the highest market share in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry?
The company holding the most market share in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry is Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd..
How competitive is the Global Ship & Boat Building industry?
The level of competition is high and steady in the Global Ship & Boat Building industry.
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