On the Prospects for International Commercial Shipbuilding Competiveness in Developed Countries

Abstract

Since the 1950s, firms in mature manufacturing industries in the developed countries have come under severe pressure from competition based in up-and-coming newly industrialized countries. Particularly in heavy industries, the outlook for the established manufacturers became grim in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite a partial resurgence in some western heavy industries in the 1990s, a new generation of powerful competition emerged in the 2000s and this has placed the future of heavy industrial competitiveness in western and developed Asian countries in question. What is the situation in shipbuilding? Can competitiveness be maintained or resurrected in developed countries? In this article, this question is discussed through two perspectives: that of the industry life cycle and the level of attractiveness of the industry.