China secures over 80% of new ship orders worldwide in first three quarters

(ECNS) -- China's shipbuilding industry maintained its leading position in the global market during the first three quarters of 2026, according to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Friday.

China's shipbuilding output reached 58.05 million DWT (deadweight tonnage, a measure of a vessel's carrying capacity expressed in metric tons), up 50.7% year on year. New orders surged by 163.2% to 175.29 million DWT, while the order backlog stood at 399.13 million DWT at the end of September, up 64.8%.

China accounted for 63.6% of global shipbuilding output, 81.8% of new orders and 72.4% of the global order backlog.

China also accounted for 74.1% of new orders for green-powered vessels worldwide, up 5.7 percentage points from the first half of the year.