Ahoy!

By K.N.C. and A.C.M.

How shipbuilding changed over a century

WHO rules the waves? Over the course of a century, the fortunes of shipbuilding nations have shifted like the tides. At the start of the 20th century the undisputed leader was Britain. The island nation produced more than half of all ships in terms of tonnage. But its dominance ebbed. Other European countries’ output grew. American industry was able to shift astounding resources into ship construction during both world wars—in 1944 it produced around 90% of all ships by weight.

After the war Britain’s shipbuilding prowess declined while Japan’s surged. Later, the European sector atrophied just as South Korea rose to prominence: in the 1990s the Asian nation accounted for around 20% of the market, twice that of Europe. Yet the 21st century may end up belonging to China. It has gone from about 5% of all ships by weight in 2000 to around 35% today. And the changing dominance has as much to do with state subsidies as commercial power, as our story in this week’s issue explains.