In the year 2025 that just ended, the global new shipbuilding market experienced an overall cooling, yet new orders for container ships once again set a historical record. Chinese shipyards continued to expand their advantage, securing over 70% of global orders and becoming the absolute leader in the field of container ship construction.

According to data from Clarksons, global new ship orders in 2025 decreased by 27% compared to the high level in 2024 but still exceeded the average order volume from 2021-2023. Container ships remained the most prominent sector, with annual new orders reaching a record high of 644 vessels (4.759 million TEU), surpassing the previous record of 4.674 million TEU set in 2024.

The total investment in new container ship construction in 2025 also further increased to $59.364 billion (approximately RMB 4.15183 trillion), slightly higher than the $58.568 billion in 2024.

Chinese shipyards continued to lead the global container ship construction market, with particularly outstanding performance. Statistics from Clarksons as of December 30, 2025, show that nearly all new container ship orders in 2025 were secured by Chinese and South Korean shipyards. Among these, Chinese shipyards signed new orders for 518 vessels (approximately 3.446 million TEU), accounting for a market share of 72%. Meanwhile, South Korean shipyards secured new orders for 105 vessels (1.247 million TEU), representing a market share of about 26%.

Among the hold order top 10 single shipyard,it has 7 shipyard  from China.And Zhoushan Changhong international  secured orders for 46 vessels with a total capacity of 523,000 TEU ,which has markedly surpass the Korean HD (49 vessel with a total capacity of 503,000 TEU) ,ranked first globally .The Korean Hnhua ocean ranked in third,it's order for 17 vessel with a total capacity of 307,000TEU;The Hengli Heavy industry and the Guangchuan International ranked in forth and fifth seperately,the order are 28 vessel with a total capacity of 279,000TEU  and 17 vesssel with a total capacity of 26,000TEU representively.

The Korean HD Modern Sanhu ranked in sixth,the order is 24 vessel with a total capacity of 255,000.The seventh to tenth are all Chinese shipyard,namely: Dachuan Shipbuilding (Tianjin) with 14 vessels (249,000 TEU), Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding with 18 vessels (229,000 TEU), Jiangnan Shipbuilding with 12 vessels (216,000 TEU), and Dalian COSCO Shipping Kawasaki with 9 vessels (167,000 TEU).

Among the top 10 individual shipyards ranked by new container ship orders in 2025, seven are from China. Specifically, Changhong International (Zhoushan) secured orders for 46 vessels (523,000 TEU), surpassing South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (49 vessels, 503,000 TEU) to claim the top position globally.

South Korea's Hanwha Ocean ranked third with orders for 17 vessels (307,000 TEU). China's Hengli Heavy Industry and Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) placed fourth and fifth, with orders of 28 vessels (279,000 TEU) and 17 vessels (260,000 TEU), respectively.

South Korea's HD Hyundai Samho ranked sixth with orders for 24 vessels (approximately 255,000 TEU). Positions seventh to tenth were all held by Chinese shipyards, in the following order: Dalian Shipbuilding (Tianjin) with 14 vessels (249,000 TEU), Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding with 18 vessels (229,000 TEU), Jiangnan Shipbuilding with 12 vessels (216,000 TEU), and Dalian COSCO Shipping Kawasaki with 9 vessels (167,000 TEU).

From the perspective of ordering shipowners, the expansion of shipping companies' own fleets is the main driver behind the container ship investment boom. Among the top 10 shipowners in terms of new orders in 2025, seven are leading carriers ranked at the top in terms of fleet capacity. These are, in order: Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) ranked first (39 vessels, 776,000 TEU); CMA CGM ranked second (34 vessels, approximately 652,000 TEU); Evergreen Marine ranked third (25 vessels, approximately 460,000 TEU); COSCO Shipping Group ranked fourth (14 vessels, approximately 259,000 TEU); Wan Hai Lines ranked seventh (22 vessels, approximately 186,000 TEU); HMM ranked eighth (12 vessels, approximately 159,000 TEU); and Ocean Network Express (ONE) ranked ninth (approximately 140,000 TEU). The operational fleet capacity of these companies all ranks within the global top 11.

In addition, as tonnage providers, Cardiff Marine, Seaspan, and Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) also placed substantial container ship orders last year. Among them, Cardiff Marine ordered 18 vessels totaling 205,000 TEU last year, ranking fifth globally in terms of order volume. All 18 of these vessels are 11,400 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered ships built by Changhong International, with 12 of them to be leased to Israel's ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. Seaspan ordered 20 vessels totaling approximately 200,000 TEU last year, ranking sixth globally in terms of order volume. Among these, six 11,400 TEU container ships built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding will be leased to COSCO Shipping Lines, and twelve 9,040 TEU vessels jointly built by Hudong-Zhonghua and Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding will be leased to Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). Singapore-based EPS ordered 41 vessels totaling approximately 138,000 TEU last year, primarily consisting of small and medium-sized ships, ranking tenth globally in terms of order volume. Among these, twelve 1,800 TEU feeder ships built by Fujian Southeast Shipbuilding will be leased to CMA CGM.