German Shipyards Drop the Gauntlet

By Yanni Bousnakis

When the biggest recession in history hit the shipbuilding industry in the 1980′s, European shipyards suffered huge losses. At the same time, the Far East was increasing production capacity at an unimaginable pace. South Korea alone boosted output by more than 550% in the 10 years between 1980 and 1990, and became the undisputed second force in the shipbuilding industry behind Japan.

Meanwhile, European shipyards, formerly a dominant force, slipped to approximately 23% in 1980, and shrank even further in the next decade to represent less than 18% in 1990.

Germany’s Shipyards
Germany’s shipbuilding industry managed to get through the 1980′s relatively intact, and retained most of its market share during this period through productivity improvements and government subsidies.

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