Container Shipping Quarterly
Special Report
Most carriers have removed Chinese-built ships from US services; Cosco and OOCL don’ t have that luxury. Lichtwolke / Shutterstock. com
Newbuild vessel orders at Chinese shipyards plummeted 54 % in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier, the report said, noting that the release of the USTR’ s fee proposal prompted carriers to shift orders to“ non-Chinese shipyards to avoid port call fees in the US.”
“ The [ USTR fees ] have disrupted shipbuilding orders, prompting shipowners to rethink order volumes,” the report said.“ The impact was most pronounced in the first quarter, when the original port fee proposal was announced.”
“ We expect China will maintain its dominance in the global shipbuilding market over the next two to three years.”
However, newbuild orders at Chinese shipyards rebounded in the third quarter, as carriers began to outline strategies to mitigate the impact, the report said, adding that only about 9 % of total US port calls in 2024 would likely be affected by the fees.
And although the fees could sway some additional orders toward shipyards in South Korea or Japan,“ their market share expansion will be constrained by limited production capacity and labor scarcity,” S & P Global Ratings wrote.“ We expect China will maintain its dominance in the global shipbuilding market over the next two to three years.”
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The Trump administration’ s effort to revitalize domestic shipbuilding has continued via trade talks with South Korea, with the latter working with the Department of Defense to direct investments. Hanwha Group in late August announced a $ 5 billion investment in a Philadelphia shipyard it acquired in December.
“ The Republic of Korea’ s shipbuilding industry is setting out to take on a new challenge to contribute to strengthening US maritime security and rejuvenating America’ s shipbuilding industry,” South Korea President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Aug. 26 at the Hanwha shipyard.
Similarly, HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries( HHI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on defense and commercial shipbuilding projects, while Fincantieri has expanded its US shipyard workforce by 600 employees since February.
With just days to go before the port fees officially take effect, it’ s still unclear how US Customs and Border Protection will collect the tax, as well as whether the government will reinvest that revenue in US shipbuilding efforts.
The Trump administration has given no sign of changing directions on the port fees. In July, two senior officials at the National Security Council supporting the White House’ s shipbuilding vision resigned, according to a report from Reuters.
But there’ s still a chance that the fees could be scrapped or diluted through a larger trade deal with China, much like how Washington and Beijing came to an accommodation in late August on TikTok ownership in the US.
email: michael. angell @ spglobal. com
October 6, 2025 | Journal of Commerce 13