Exports: Italia loses its position as world leader in shipbuilding

In 2025, after three consecutive years at the top of the world rankings, Italia ranked second amongst the leading exporting countries in the shipbuilding sector; it remains, however, in first place in the global rankings for superyacht orders – those over 24 metres in length – with 568 vessels under construction. This is according to the 2026 edition of La nautica in cifre, the annual report compiled by Confindustria Nautica and the Edison Foundation. Despite being overtaken by the Netherlands in terms of exports, however, the Italian sector achieved its best-ever result, with exports totalling 4.96 billion dollars, an increase of 328.1 million compared with 2024 (+7.1 per cent). This figure represents 21.3 per cent of global exports in the sector and confirms, as the report states, ‘the structural strength and growing competitiveness of the Italian shipbuilding industry, underpinned by a highly specialised production system, a diversified product range and established leadership in the segments with the highest added value’.

The Netherlands ranks first with exports totalling 6.6 billion dollars, accounting for 28.4 per cent of the global total, representing an increase of 2.71 billion compared with 2024 (+69.7 per cent). However, this result requires careful analysis. The exceptional growth in Dutch exports is, in fact, ‘largely attributable to the delivery, concentrated between June and November 2025, of at least five superyachts of exceptional size, ranging from approximately 60 to over 100 metres in length. These vessels, characterised by an extremely high economic value, have had a decisive impact on the annual statistics, resulting in an extraordinary increase that is unlikely to be replicated – as the study emphasises – in the short term’.

The United States remains in third place, with exports totalling $1.51 billion and accounting for 6.5 per cent of the global total. For the second year running, however, the country recorded the sharpest decline amongst the leading exporters, with a fall of $519 million compared with 2024 (-25.5 per cent). France takes fourth place, with exports totalling $1.37 billion (5.9 per cent of the global total), despite a fall of $244.6 million compared with the previous year (-15.1 per cent). Behind it is Poland, which has consolidated its position amongst the world’s leading exporters with exports totalling $1.18 billion, a 5.1 per cent share and growth of almost $47 million (+4.1 per cent) compared with 2024.

Overall, the top five exporting countries (the Netherlands, Italia, the United States, France and Poland) account for 67.2 per cent of global shipbuilding exports, highlighting the high degree of geographical concentration in the sector’s international trade. Other major players include the United Kingdom and Turkey, with shares of 4.8 per cent and 3.0 per cent respectively, corresponding to exports of 1.11 billion and 709 million dollars. Whilst the United Kingdom recorded a slight decline compared with 2024 (-18.3 million; -1.6 per cent), Turkey continues on its growth trajectory, increasing exports by 197.3 million dollars (+38.6 per cent), confirming the gradual strengthening of its shipbuilding industry.

Rounding off the top ten are Mexico, with $538 million in exports (2.3 per cent of the global total), China, with $530 million (2.3 per cent), and Germany, ‘which in 2025 recorded the most significant decline amongst its main international competitors. German exports will, in fact, stand at $461 million, a fall of almost $1.5 billion compared with 2024. Consequently, Germany’s share of global exports falls from 8.9 per cent to 2.0 per cent’, leading to ‘a drop from fourth to tenth place in the rankings’.