America’s naval disaster
US shipbuilding cannot recover while shielding domestic shipyards from foreign competition
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[WASHINGTON, DC] At the end of World War II, the US Navy was by far the world’s largest. As late as 1975, the US remained a major shipbuilding power, although its pre-eminence had already begun to diminish.
By the end of the 20th century, however, American shipbuilding was in steep decline, despite government efforts to revive it.
As American shipbuilding declined, China surged ahead. In 2015, its naval fleet roughly matched that of the US. Five years later, it had 350 warships, while the US Navy had 293, down from 583 in 1987.
