In the Offing
Both the United States and Canada had prominent shipbuilding industries even before they were considered nations. Today, these industries still serve critical national roles, and they remain vital for the private sector too. To maintain relevance moving forward, binational public- or private-sector cooperation might prove helpful.
A Colonial Power Move
During the colonial era, the territories that eventually became the US and Canada had substantial timber and other key resources for shipbuilding. They also inherited some shipbuilding know-how from Europe, along with an imperative to generate and mobilize new trade and economic benefits for the European colonial powers.
The role of shipbuilding was pivotal in shaping the economies and societies of North America because of trade, and also because of the United States’ and Canada’s almost 138,000 miles of coastline, more or less. [While Popular Mechanics says it is impossible to accurately measure a coastline, the CIA World Factbook took a crack at it and reported that Canada has far and away the longest coastline in the world, with about 125,567 miles, while the United States comes in ninth, with 12,380 miles of coast.]
Booms and Busts
The bane of shipyards has always been cyclicality. In a Hub.ca deep dive into Canadian shipbuilding in June 2025, entitled, “It’s time to end the boom-and-bust cycle of Canadian shipbuilding,” Richard Shimooka said that the shipbuilding industry that began in Canada in the mid-17th century saw a downturn following the transfer of power from France to Great Britain, then a lift at the prospect of war with the United States in 1812, then another jump during the “Golden Age of Sail” in the mid-19th century. Later, a collapse at the turn of the 20th-century brought about by a switch to metal construction, and steam power was soon followed by a resurgence during WWI and WWII — and then yet another lull.
Shimooka concluded that ending the boom-bust cycle would be in Canada’s best interests and would provide the Canadian Navy and other government agencies with the ships they need to carry out their missions, providing security for the country, diversifying the economy, creating a pipeline of skilled trade workers, and building an important innovation hub. “Relying on this historical pillar of strength will be critical for Canada’s future,” he said.
Similarly, the US-based shipbuilding sector has alternately suffered and prospered. Naval Warfare reporter Megan Eckstein, in an analysis published by Defense News at the end of 2023, said that, “From 1953 to 2016, the number of US shipyards capable of building large, oceangoing military and commercial vessels declined from 30 to six, and their annual output declined from 60 to seven.”
The 2024 McKinsey & Company report entitled “Charting a new course: The untapped potential of American shipyards” said, “US shipbuilding output has decreased by more than 85 percent since the 1950s, while the number of American shipyards capable of building large vessels has fallen by more than 80 percent.”
Shipyards challenges, as reported by McKinsey & Company, range from talent gaps to outdated operating models. “The US has gone from building 5.0 percent of the world’s ocean-going commercial ships in the 1970s to building about 0.2 percent today, as measured by gross tonnage. Conversely, China, Japan, and South Korea now combine for more than 90 percent of global commercial shipbuilding,” according to the McKinsey report.
A lot of folks want to change that. The US Navy’s shipbuilding budget has already been increasing. “Its most recent 30-year plan calls for the construction of 290 to 340 new ships by 2053,” the report said.
Latent Capacity
In Canada, there are a handful of large-scale shipyards, but as many as 50 more small-scale yards, often specializing in offshore drilling, fishing, rescue, and other crafts. Made in CA reports there is shipyard capacity to be had in Canada, especially given the recent investment by the National Shipbuilding Strategy, or NSS.
The Shipbuilders Council of America counts 80 member facilities based in the US The US is said to have “substantial latent shipbuilding, sustainment, and repair capacity, including aging but not obsolete capital assets, and a strong base of potential skilled-trade labor,” according to the McKinsey report.
That’s good, because North American industrial waterfrontage is in short supply. As the shipbuilding industry evolves, with perhaps new developments in vessels and watercraft, there may be only a handful of potential locations for new shipyards.
Jon Nass, CEO and Executive Director of Gulfport, said that the port’s deepwater west pier has a 200-acre southward-expansion US Army Corps permit in hand, and the site would make an ideal location maritime industrial activity such as ship or crane construction. The port already houses several high-tech industries with ocean tech elements and collaborations.
One Big Beautiful Act
In March 2025, President Donald Trump announced plans to revitalize US shipbuilding, for both military and commercial vessel construction.
“We are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding,” Trump said. “We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact to further enhance our national security.”
Trump announced the creation of a White House Office of Shipbuilding as part of the effort and proposed “special tax incentives.”
The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is set to provide billions of dollars to reinvigorate shipyards and the maritime industrial base and help US maritime forces defend America and its allies. The Coast Guard’s $14 billion share and the US Navy’s $30 billion share for shipbuilding will go a long way toward addressing concerns about the expansion of naval prowess in places like China, and in fulfilling America’s growing naval needs.
In a July 2025 Hudson Institute session called “How Congress Can Rebuild US Shipbuilding and Boost Maritime Security,” senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology Bryan Clark said, “Efforts on the Hill like the Ships Act, the SPEED Act and the Forged Act are all going to contribute to, we hope, an improvement in maritime industrial base, expansion of US shipbuilding, and overall advancement of US maritime security.”
Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty
In Canada, the NSS is a multibillion-dollar program slated to renew Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleets. Like their counterparts to the south, Canada’s maritime agencies have underinvested and must play catch up to fulfill their missions and revitalize shipyards.
“As part of its fleet renewal plan, the Canadian Coast Guard is acquiring two polar icebreakers,” according to a March 2025 Government of Canada backgrounder. These vessels will be delivered in the early 2030s, with construction work by Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards and Chantier Davie Canada Inc.
The backgrounder also forecasted shipyard growth due to “transformative agreements like the ICE Pact, signed last November with the United States and Finland, and through Canada’s defense policy, Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence, Canada is investing in our collective defense and security in the Arctic.”
Rebound in the Works
The shipbuilding and repair industry wants stability and volume. Government and commercial vessel contracts help. A few big announcements can make a major difference in restoring a country’s shipbuilding strength.
In March 2025, Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of container giant CMA CGM, announced a $20 billion investment plan that included the construction of container ships, increasing the company’s US-flag vessel fleet from 10 to 30 ships. Industry analysts say this is an important boost for the mindset of the industry and its revitalization.
Alliances and Agreements
The US and Canada and their allies can cooperate to rebuild their shipbuilding and repair capacity in a number of key areas.
In March 2025, the Australian Government unveiled the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) Submarine Industry Strategy, which included an announcement for the first of Australia’s six A$800 million investments “into the US industrial base.” In August 2025, the National Security Journal reported that the AUCKUS submarine deal is dead.
“The central promise of the AUKUS security pact — to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines — is reportedly no longer viable due to a severe crisis in the US and UK defense industrial bases,” analyst Andrew Latham wrote.
“The US Navy is struggling to build and maintain its own submarine fleet and cannot spare any Virginia-class boats, while the UK’s industry has no surplus capacity to make up the shortfall,” said Latham.
On the other hand, the ICE Pact icebreaker collaboration effort is gaining accolades. It seeks to build collaboration between the members with a view to strengthen shipbuilding industries through information sharing, workforce development, and innovation. It targets capacity for Arctic and polar vessels. Shared interests and needs are the foundation of the pact.
A May 2025 commentary published by public-policy nonprofit RAND suggested another shipbuilding alliance. It said that as China churns out warships at an unprecedented pace, the United States, South Korea, and Japan should form a shipbuilding alliance.
“The United States cannot compete with China alone,” RAND said. “To rebuild the US shipyard industrial base, as well as to make US vessels commercially competitive in the global market in the long run, the United States must turn to allies who already possess the industrial capacity, expertise, and motivation to help close the gap.”
Together with South Korea and Japan, both of whom are allies and shipbuilding powerhouses, the US could “form a natural industrial alliance capable of revitalizing US maritime dominance through friendshoring/onshoring, joint production and investment, and technological integration,” according to RAND.
Specific Opportunities for US-Canada Cooperation
Closer to home, US and Canada have plenty of potential for cooperation to lift shipbuilding.
According to National Defense Magazine, some shipyard trades see annual turnover of 30% or more, and while the US Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base Program reports it has hundreds of projects underway to revitalize the workforce and supply chain, an outside approach might be beneficial. Sharing best practices in curriculum development, for example, might add value.
It is a challenge to build and retain a top-notch workforce in a cyclical industry. By investing in ongoing training, both the US and Canada may enhance their skilled labor pools in welding, ship-fitting, and other trades. Binational partnerships might look like joint training programs or apprenticeships, especially in border states and provinces with shipyards.
The modernization of equipment and infrastructure, and the expansion of yard capacity are also mutual goals. A recent article by the US Naval Institute said there may be room for cross-border investment, joint investments, or resource sharing. Similarly, shipyards haven’t been immune to supply chain troubles. Joint analyses may lead to innovative fixes.
Binational collaboration presents opportunities for shared research and development, especially in the areas of advanced manufacturing technologies, automation, and sustainable shipbuilding practices.
Also, there may be opportunity to coordinate on regulatory and trade policies, such as through the harmonization of regulations, and exploration of ways to facilitate trade in shipbuilding goods and services, according to the Public Spend Forum.
The creation of an integrated North American shipbuilding cluster might be a way forward for the US and Canada to create more resilient and robust North American shipbuilding and repair capacity that broadens benefits to both countries.
Out of the Doldrums
North American shipbuilding has many of the ingredients for success. With the current influx of government contracts and other support, the industry will be able to better position itself for address the demands of commercial and government vessel construction and maintenance in the future. Opportunities for US-Canada collaboration may prove to be an important consideration in grooming this essential industry for continuing progress.
