Why Does U.S. Shipbuilding Capacity Matter for National Security?

U.S. shipbuilding capacity matters because the country needs yards, suppliers, and skilled workers that can build and repair vessels during normal commerce and a national emergency. Voltic's focus on domestic retrofit capacity fits that need by directing maritime engineering and installation work toward ships already in service. The long-term decline is substantial. Maritime historian John D. McCown reports that privately owned U.S.-flag cargo ships and the government reserve fleet together represented about half of global cargo tonnage in 1950. His commercial-fleet table gives a lower 18.4% share because it excludes reserve ships. McCown reports that 178 U.S.-flag cargo ships later represented about 0.57% of worldwide commercial tonnage. Shipbuilding shows a similar gap. CSIS reports that China held more than 53% of the global commercial shipbuilding market in 2024, while the United States held 0.1%. A Congressional Research Service summary reports that China delivered 1,216 ships in 2022, compared with five or fewer from U.S. yards. The comparison concerns commercial output and varies by vessel definition, but the production gap is clear. Limited capacity constrains sealift, repair availability, workforce depth, and the ability to replace losses. Domestic retrofits cannot replace new construction, but they can keep yards active, expand supplier demand, and strengthen practical experience with modern vessel systems.