After a brief rebound in September, Japan’s shipbuilding orders fell again in October.
Recently, the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association (JSEA) released the latest data on Japanese shipbuilders’ order intake for October 2025. In October 2025, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for a total of 9 ships, amounting to 392,814 GT, a decrease of 42.9% compared to the 16 ships (687,400 GT) in the same period of 2024, falling below the previous year’s level for the first time in two months.
By ship type, the 9 new ship orders received by Japanese shipbuilders in October this year included 2 container ships totaling 115,814 GT, 5 bulk carriers (3 Handysize, 1 Handymax, 1 Panamax) totaling 156,400 GT, and 2 Aframax tankers totaling 120,600 GT.
So far in the 2025 fiscal year (April 2025 – March 2026), Japanese shipbuilders have received orders for a total of 102 ships, amounting to 4,713,564 GT, a year-on-year decrease of 36.3%. This includes 12 cargo ships (835,994 GT), 79 bulk carriers (3,284,400 GT), and 11 tankers (593,170 GT).
In the first 10 months of this year, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for a total of 141 ships, amounting to 6,869,764 GT, a year-on-year decrease of 31.4%. Classified by ship type, this specifically includes 17 cargo ships (1,107,674 GT), 110 bulk carriers (4,828,440 GT), 13 tankers (933,170 GT), and 1 other ship (480 GT).
Japanese media pointed out that as the implementation timeline of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) net-zero framework is delayed, shipowners are finding it increasingly difficult to make decisions regarding the demand for alternative fuel vessels. At the same time, domestic Japanese shipyards, due to a lack of sufficient berths and labor shortages, are unable to accept more orders, leading to the loss of some orders.
As of the end of October this year, Japanese shipbuilders’ total order backlog stood at 600 ships, amounting to 28.95 million GT, slightly down from 29.27 million GT at the end of September. Currently, the order backlog for Japanese shipbuilders remains high; based on the completion volume in 2024, the current backlog represents approximately 3.5 years of construction workload.
