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China's shipyards captured 81.8% of global newbuilding orders by deadweight tonnage during the first nine months of 2026, according to official figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on October 23. Chinese yards secured 175.29 million dwt of new orders, a 163.2% increase from the same period last year, while their outstanding orderbook climbed to 399.13 million dwt, representing 72.4% of the global total. The concentration is extending across tankers, containerships, vehicle carriers and alternative-fuel vessels, raising questions about competition, construction capacity and the availability of alternative shipyards for international owners.
81.8% of the World's New Ship Orders Went to China
China's share of global orders expanded by 14.5 percentage points in just one year, measured by deadweight tonnage.
January–September 2026
January–September 2025
One Year of Global Market Share Shift
Same nine-month reporting period in both years. The order-share comparison uses dwt, not ship counts, contract values or compensated gross tonnage.
Change in global new-order market share on a dwt basis.
Estimated growth in orders outside China, despite the share decline.
China's Share Across Three Industry Indicators
The orders being placed now are more concentrated in China than the ships being delivered today.
The 2028 Delivery Wall
Taking an order is one challenge. Building the ship within the promised delivery window is another.
Chinese Shipyard Output Must Approach Twice Its 2025 Level
BIMCO's scheduled-delivery comparison, measured in compensated gross tonnage.
by schedule
China's Share of Three High-Demand Ship Types
Reported global shares of new vessel orders during January–September 2026. These category figures are based on vessel contracting reports, not a common CGT weighting.
The Broader Industrial Constraint
CGT on order worldwide as of September 1, 2026, according to BIMCO. Approximately 64% was held by Chinese shipyards.
BIMCO's estimated orderbook coverage using peak annual output over the preceding five years as the capacity benchmark.
What If Ship Orders Shift Away From China?
Explore how a change in China's global order share would redistribute newbuilding demand across competing shipyards, using the first nine months of 2026 as a reference.
Adjust the Contracting Market
Estimated new-order tonnage directed to shipbuilders in all other countries combined.
Contracting Demand Outside China
Two comparable volumes on a common scale: estimated actual January–September 2026 orders outside China, and the selected scenario.
Change in tonnage directed outside China, holding selected global contracting volume constant.
Percentage change relative to approximately 39.0M dwt contracted outside China in January–September 2026.
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