2026 in China — chart by AsiaDailyPost — China Data Portal (2026). Retrieved from https://chinadata.live/data/china-shipbuilding-orders/. From China

China’s shipbuilding orderbook value index started at 680 in 2006 and climbed to 9,850 by 2025, the highest point in two decades of CANSI data, while physical deadweight completions in 2006 were a mere 45 DWT — a gap that captures the industry’s vast expansion.

Top of the chart: 2025

The orderbook value index hit 9,850 in 2025, extending a rally that saw it breach 8,000 for the first time in 2024. This metric, a composite measure of contract value, was flanked by new-order value of 4,280 and completed-value of 950, while deadweight tonnage in the orderbook reached 1,582 DWT — all records. Shipyards entered 2026 with the heaviest backlog on record.

The other end: 2006

In 2006, the orderbook value index stood at just 680. New-order value was 215, and completed-value 145. Physical output was even starker: completed deadweight tonnage reached only 45 DWT, new orders 73 DWT, and the entire orderbook 104 DWT — figures that today reflect a single large container ship order. The gap between 2006 and 2025 is not merely numerical; it traces the arc of China’s emergence as the world’s dominant shipbuilder.

What separates the two eras

The fourteenfold increase in the orderbook value index reflects more than volume — it points to a shift toward high-value vessels such as LNG carriers and ultra-large container ships, alongside aggressive yard expansion and state-backed financing. The physical deadweight tonnage metrics, by contrast, grew by a factor of roughly five to six, underscoring a deliberate push up the value chain rather than pure tonnage accumulation.

2006: 680
2007: 1,050
2008: 2,340
2009: 3,620
2010: 6,850
2011: 6,420
2012: 4,150
2013: 3,850
2014: 4,850
2015: 3,450
2016: 2,580
2017: 2,450
2018: 3,280
2019: 2,980
2020: 3,180
2021: 5,480
2022: 5,080
2023: 7,380
2024: 8,650
2025: 9,850

The orderbook value index, despite occasional pullbacks during global shipping downturns, has more than tripled since the mid-2010s, leaving Chinese yards with a cushion of secured work that will take years to build through.

Source: China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) · 2026-06-27T21:05:12.200Z

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China's Shipbuilding Orderbook Value Soars from 680 to 9,850 in 20 Years