Ship Building Market

Market Overview:

The global ship building market size reached USD 161.6 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach USD 210.6 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 3% during 2025-2033. The rising international trade, increasing construction of military vessels, and adoption of modular construction approach represent some of the key factors driving the market.

Ship building refers to the process of designing and fabricating large marine vessels in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. It includes the construction of oil tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, general cargo vessels, cruise ships, ferries, tugs, and military vessels. Shipbuilding utilizes various raw materials, such as steel, aluminum, alloys, wood, glass fibers, foam plastics, and composites. It involves multiple manufacturing steps, such as panel construction, section assembly, block building, erection, launching, pre-outfitting, painting, and slipway outfitting. Manufactured ships undergo several phases of testing, such as hydrostatic tests, sea trials, and engine tests, to ensure hull integrity and optimum functioning of onboard equipment. Ship building is an essential and strategic manufacturing activity that helps in a country’s economic growth and caters to the demands of various industries, such as transportation, energy, defense, and fishing.

Ship Building Market Trends:

The rising international seaborne trade due to rapid globalization and economic growth is one of the primary factors driving the market growth. Ship building processis widely used to construct larger cargo ships, bulk carriers, and tankers that are utilized for transporting crude oils, petroleum products, steel, mineral ores, raw materials, vehicles, consumer electronics, fruits and vegetables, machinery, and other manufactured goods due to their enormous load-carrying capacity, cost-effectiveness, and fuel efficiency. In addition to this, the implementation of various government initiatives by to boost maritime trade through the construction of new port facilities and the signing of free trade agreements is acting as another growth-inducing factor. Furthermore, rapid military modernization coupled with increasing defense spending is facilitating the demand for shipbuilding to construct advanced military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, frigates, destroyers, cruisers, full-service carriers, littoral combat ships, corvettes, fast patrol vessels, and amphibious assault ships. Additionally, the adoption of a modular construction approach in shipbuilding that allows multiple shipyards to construct major modules of a ship, followed by final integration and testing, which in turn saves time, increases quality, and reduces costs, is positively influencing the market growth. Moreover, the integration of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies in shipbuilding to provide immersive training to employees and allow engineers to place digital information in a visual environment to validate design concepts is favoring the market growth. Other factors, including rising import and export activities, increasing demand for eco-friendly ships, and the introduction of robotics in shipbuilding, are anticipated to drive the market growth.

Key Market Segmentation:

IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each segment of the global ship building market, along with forecasts at the global, regional, and country levels from 2025-2033. Our report has categorized the market based on type and end user.

Type Insights:

• Oil Tankers
• Bulk Carriers
• General Cargo Ships
• Container Ships
• Passenger Ships
• Others
   

The report has provided a detailed breakup and analysis of the ship building market based on the type. This includes oil tankers, bulk carriers, general cargo ships, container ships, passenger ships, and others. According to the report, bulk carriers represented the largest segment.

End User Insights:

• Transport Companies
• Military
   

A detailed breakup and analysis of the ship building market based on the end user has also been provided in the report. This includes transport companies and military. According to the report, transport companies accounted for the largest market share.

Regional Insights:

• North America
  • United States
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Russia
  • Others
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Indonesia
  • Others
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Others
• Middle East and Africa
   

The report has also provided a comprehensive analysis of all the major regional markets, which include North America (the United States and Canada); Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia, and others); Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, and others); Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and others); and the Middle East and Africa. According to the report, Asia Pacific was the largest market for ship building. Some of the factors driving the Asia Pacific ship building market included the increasing maritime trade activities, rising defense budget, and significant technological advancements. 

Competitive Landscape:

The report has also provided a comprehensive analysis of the competitive landscape in the global ship building market. Competitive analysis such as market structure, market share by key players, player positioning, top winning strategies, competitive dashboard, and company evaluation quadrant has been covered in the report. Also, detailed profiles of all major companies have been provided. Some of the companies covered include China Shipbuilding Trading Co. Ltd., Damen Shipyards Group, Fincantieri S.p.A., Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd., etc. Kindly note that this only represents a partial list of companies, and the complete list has been provided in the report.

Report Coverage:

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

• How has the global ship building market performed so far, and how will it perform in the coming years?
• What are the drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the global ship building market?
• What is the impact of each driver, restraint, and opportunity on the global ship building market?
• What are the key regional markets?
• Which countries represent the most attractive ship building market?
• What is the breakup of the market based on the type?
• Which is the most attractive type in the ship building market?
• What is the breakup of the market based on the end user?
• Which is the most attractive end user in the ship building market?
• What is the competitive structure of the global ship building market?
• Who are the key players/companies in the global ship building market?

Key Benefits for Stakeholders:

• IMARC’s report offers a comprehensive quantitative analysis of various market segments, historical and current market trends, market forecasts, and dynamics of the ship building market from 2019-2033.
• The research study provides the latest information on the market drivers, challenges, and opportunities in the global ship building market.
• The study maps the leading, as well as the fastest-growing, regional markets. It further enables stakeholders to identify the key country-level markets within each region.
• Porter's five forces analysis assist stakeholders in assessing the impact of new entrants, competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, and the threat of substitution. It helps stakeholders to analyze the level of competition within the ship building industry and its attractiveness.
• Competitive landscape allows stakeholders to understand their competitive environment and provides an insight into the current positions of key players in the market.