The United States’ policy of imposing “sky-high” port fees on Chinese-built ships has not shaken global shipowners’ determination to order new ships from Chinese shipyards.
Recently, the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report stating that, in response to strong domestic calls to revitalize the shipbuilding industry, the United States has begun taking action in an attempt to rebuild its struggling shipbuilding sector and weaken China’s dominant position in the global shipbuilding industry. However, although the intensive policy actions from the US once triggered sharp market reactions, as these policies gradually take shape, many shipping companies are accelerating their plans to place orders with Chinese shipyards.
The report points out that the shipbuilding industry has become a major focal point in the intensifying competition between the US and China. In 2024, China’s share of the global commercial shipbuilding market exceeded 53%, while the US accounted for only 0.1%. The tonnage of commercial ships built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) alone in 2024 already surpassed the total cumulative shipbuilding output of the entire US shipbuilding industry since the end of World War II.
In an effort to shake the dominant position of Chinese shipyards, the US has proposed a series of measures in recent years to reshape the industry landscape. In April last year, following a petition from five US unions, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) initiated a Section 301 investigation into China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. On April 17, 2025, the US side announced the final measures of the 301 investigation, deciding to impose fees on Chinese shipowners and operators, Chinese-built ships, and car carriers built anywhere outside the United States.
Although USTR’s final measures are scheduled to take effect on October 14, the 301 investigation and related policy discussions have already had a noticeable impact on the global new ship order landscape.
Citing S&P Global, CSIS noted that after USTR announced the initiation of the 301 investigation in April 2024, new ship orders at Chinese shipyards surged sharply in the short term, with over 75% of global new ship orders in the second half of 2024 going to Chinese shipyards (by tonnage). The timing of this order surge suggests that US policy statements likely influenced buyer decisions, with shipowners seemingly eager to secure construction contracts with Chinese shipyards before the restrictions took effect.
After this wave of enthusiasm, the market adjusted in 2025, and new ship orders declined significantly. In January 2025, the share of orders received by Chinese shipyards fell below 50%, the lowest monthly record since September 2023, indicating that the market was experiencing capacity saturation and order backlogs following the previous rush to order.
After USTR released its Section 301 plan in February of this year targeting China’s shipping, logistics, and shipbuilding industries, proposing to levy port service fees on operators whose fleets include Chinese-built ships and those potentially ordering ships from China, new ship orders at Chinese shipyards declined even more sharply. From March to May this year, the share of orders received by Chinese shipyards dropped to below 30%. It is worth noting that during this period, orders for non-Chinese shipyards, led by Japan and South Korea, remained stable, indicating that overall global demand did not collapse; rather, orders for Chinese shipyards shrank significantly, showing that US policy measures were indeed affecting shipowners’ willingness to place orders with Chinese shipyards.
However, this impact was only temporary. The latest data shows that by the summer of 2025, orders received by Chinese shipyards began to recover, with China’s share rebounding to over 65% in June and reaching 84% in August.
This is consistent with recent statements from global container shipping giants such as Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM – the US government’s fee policy has had almost no impact on their ship ordering behavior. Since USTR announced the fee plan in April 2025, MSC alone has placed orders for 12 ultra-large container ships at Chinese shipyards, accounting for about 22% of the total orders received by Chinese shipyards from April to July (by tonnage).
Meanwhile, recent news indicated that CMA CGM has signed a Letter of Intent with Dalian Shipbuilding for 6+4 22,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships; Maersk plans to order up to 12 18,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships, with potential shipyard choices being New Times Shipbuilding or Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.
According to statistics released by Clarksons last month, from January to August this year, the global cumulative volume of new ship orders was 1,912 ships totaling 34.48 million CGT. Measured by CGT, this represents a 14% decrease compared to the 2,190 ships totaling 40.14 million CGT in the same period last year (January-August). Among these, Chinese shipyards received orders for 872 ships totaling 13.96 million CGT, a year-on-year decrease of 17%, with a market share of 40%, ranking first globally.
As of the end of August this year, the global orderbook stood at 164.9 million CGT, a decrease of 980,000 CGT compared to the end of July. Among these, China’s new ship orderbook reached 99.92 million CGT, an increase of 13.6 million CGT year-on-year and an increase of 420,000 CGT month-on-month, maintaining the top position with a 61% market share.
CSIS concluded that, looking ahead, the direction of US shipbuilding policy will depend not only on USTR’s port fee system but also be influenced by the SHIPS for America Act currently under review by the US Congress. The SHIPS for America Act was first proposed in December 2024 and resubmitted after revision in April 2025. Unlike USTR’s “one-size-fits-all” fee mechanism, this bill specifically targets China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), imposing higher fees on ships built by its affiliated shipyards.
It is worth noting that shipping companies do not seem deterred by the SHIPS for America Act and its higher fees for ships built by CSSC. In the first eight months of 2025, new ship orders received by CSSC-affiliated shipyards accounted for over 40% of China’s total orders received, a proportion that is on par with or even higher than previous years.
It is understood that CSIS was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Abshire. It is the largest international affairs research institution in the United States, headquartered in Washington, D.C. CSIS conducts policy research and political strategy analysis on economic and security issues, focusing on technology, public policy, international trade and finance, and energy. In recent years, CSIS has strengthened its research on the Asia-Pacific region and is one of the think tanks with significant influence on Republican administrations.
