South Korean shipbuilders record major backlog: South Korea’s major shipbuilders saw their combined order backlog surpass KRW 190 tn (USD 139 bn) in 1Q 2025, South Korean news outlet The Chosun Daily reported on Sunday. The backlog comes as major shipping firms steer away from China on the back of rising geopolitical tensions from the US-Sino trade war.

A breakdown:

  • HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) reported an order backlog of KRW 104 tn (USD 74.2 bn) from its subsidiaries;
  • Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) reported a total of KWR 44 tn (USD 32 bn);
  • Hanwha Ocean’s backlogs reached KWR 44 tn (USD 31.4 bn).

We’ve been expecting this: South Korean and Japanese shipbuilders are poised to emerge as the biggest winners from Trump’s attempted crackdown on China’s shipbuilding industry. The levies imposed on China-built vessels are expected to shift the market share away from China to hubs with an already-established production capacity, such as South Korea and Japan.

Tags: