Japan’s shipbuilding orders continued to decline in June, marking the third consecutive month of year-on-year decreases.
Recently, the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association (JSEA) released the latest data on ship orders received by Japanese shipbuilders in June 2025. In June 2025, Japanese shipbuilders secured orders for a total of 23 vessels, amounting to 1,355,450 GT, a 36.9% decrease compared to the same period in 2024, which saw 54 vessels totaling 2,148,210 GT.
By vessel type, the 23 new orders in June included 2 car carriers (149,200 GT), 18 bulk carriers (9 Handysize, 4 Handymax, and 5 Capesize) totaling 863,150 GT, and 3 tankers (2 VLCCs and 1 ammonia carrier) totaling 333,100 GT.
Since the second quarter, Japan’s monthly ship orders have shown a downward trend year-on-year. From April to June, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for 55 vessels totaling 2.867 million GT, a 39.8% decline. Specifically, the second-quarter orders included 4 cargo ships (435,200 GT), 45 bulk carriers (3.03355 million GT), and 6 tankers (398,250 GT).
In the first half of this year, Japanese shipbuilders secured orders for 94 vessels totaling 5.0232 million GT, a 68.1% year-on-year decrease. By vessel type, these included 9 cargo ships (706,880 GT), up from 9 vessels (139,990 GT) in the same period last year; 76 bulk carriers (3.57759 million GT), down from 140 vessels (6.20423 million GT) last year; 8 tankers (738,250 GT), down from 22 vessels (1.03029 million GT) last year; and 1 other vessel (480 GT).
Japanese media noted that despite strong global demand for new shipbuilding, Japanese shipyards are unable to take on more orders due to insufficient berth capacity. Currently, major Japanese shipyards have their delivery berths fully booked for the next few years. Meanwhile, Japanese shipbuilders have been reducing capacity or even exiting the market in recent years, raising concerns within the industry about the continued decline in future construction share.
According to Clarksons’ statistics, global new ship orders in the first half of the year totaled 647 vessels (46.8 million DWT, 19.4 million CGT), representing a 48% year-on-year decline in CGT terms but only a 7% drop compared to the 10-year average. Globally, facing fierce competition from Chinese and South Korean shipbuilders, Japan’s market share in new orders for the first half of the year was less than 10%.
As of the end of June, Japanese shipbuilders held a total order backlog of 620 vessels (29.99 million GT), up from 29.85 million GT at the end of May. Currently, Japan’s order backlog remains high, with existing orders equivalent to approximately 3.5 years of production based on 2024 completion volumes.
