Growth of the World Fleet Since WWII
Source: Lloyd's Register of Shipping "World Fleet Statistics"
These two charts show the explosion in the size of the world fleet in the 1970s that is driving the current demand for replacement, 30 years later. The trend lines superimposed on the past 15 years of these two charts illustrate the fact that the number of ships in the world fleet grows at less than half the rate that the tonnage in the world fleet grows, partly because the average ship gets bigger every year and partly because the industry gets more efficient every year.
| Year |
# of Ships |
000 GT |
|
1914 |
24,444 |
45,404 |
|
-------- World War I -------- |
||
|
1919 |
24,386 |
47,897 |
|
1920 |
26,513 |
53,905 |
|
1921 |
28,433 |
58,846 |
|
1922 |
29,255 |
61,343 |
|
1923 |
29,246 |
62,335 |
|
1924 |
29,024 |
61,514 |
|
1925 |
29,205 |
62,380 |
|
1926 |
29,092 |
62,672 |
|
1927 |
28,967 |
63,267 |
|
1928 |
29,387 |
65,159 |
|
1929 |
29,612 |
66,407 |
|
1930 |
29,996 |
68,024 |
|
1931 |
29,952 |
68,723 |
|
1932 |
29,932 |
68,368 |
|
1933 |
29,515 |
66,628 |
|
1934 |
28,964 |
64,358 |
|
1935 |
29,071 |
63,727 |
|
1936 |
29,197 |
64,005 |
|
1937 |
29,524 |
65,271 |
|
1938 |
20,409 |
66,870 |
|
1939 |
29,763 |
68,509 |
|
-------- World War II -------- |
||
|
1948 |
29,340 |
80,292 |
|
1949 |
30,284 |
82,571 |
|
1950 |
30,852 |
84,583 |
|
1951 |
31,226 |
87,245 |
|
1952 |
31,461 |
90,180 |
|
1953 |
31,797 |
93,352 |
|
1954 |
32,358 |
97,422 |
|
1955 |
32,492 |
100,569 |
|
1956 |
33,052 |
105,200 |
|
1957 |
33,804 |
110,246 |
|
1958 |
35,202 |
118,034 |
|
1959 |
36,221 |
124,935 |
|
1960 |
36,311 |
129,769 |
|
1961 |
37,792 |
135,916 |
|
1962 |
38,661 |
139,980 |
|
1963 |
39,571 |
145,863 |
|
1964 |
40,859 |
153,000 |
|
1965 |
41,865 |
160,392 |
|
1966 |
43,014 |
171,130 |
|
1967 |
44,375 |
182,100 |
|
1968 |
47,444 |
194,152 |
|
1969 |
50,276 |
211,661 |
|
1970 |
52,444 |
227,490 |
|
1971 |
55,041 |
247,203 |
|
1972 |
57,391 |
268,340 |
|
1973 |
59,606 |
289,927 |
|
1974 |
61,194 |
311,323 |
|
1975 |
63,724 |
342,162 |
|
1976 |
65,887 |
372,000 |
|
1977 |
67,945 |
393,678 |
|
1978 |
69,020 |
406,002 |
|
1979 |
71,129 |
413,021 |
|
1980 |
73,882 |
419,991 |
|
1981 |
73,864 |
420,835 |
|
1982 |
75,151 |
424,742 |
|
1983 |
76,106 |
422,590 |
|
1984 |
76,068 |
418,682 |
|
1985 |
76,395 |
416,269 |
|
1986 |
75,266 |
404,910 |
|
1987 |
75,240 |
403,498 |
|
1988 |
75,680 |
404,406 |
|
1989 |
76,100 |
410,481 |
|
1990 |
78,336 |
423,627 |
|
1991 |
80,030 |
436,027 |
|
1992 |
79,845 |
444,305 |
|
1993 |
80,655 |
457,915 |
|
1994 |
80,676 |
475,859 |
|
1995 |
82,890 |
490,662 |
|
1996 |
84,264 |
507,873 |
|
1997 |
85,494 |
522,197 |
|
1998 |
85,258 |
531,893 |
|
1999 |
86,817 |
543,610 |
|
2000 |
87,546 |
553,054 |
|
2001 |
87,939 |
574,551 |
|
2002 |
89,010 |
585,583 |
|
2003 |
89,899 |
605,218 |
|
2004 |
89,960 |
633,321 |
|
2005 |
~90,500 |
~670,000 |
|
2006 |
~91,000 |
~700,000 |
|
2007 |
~91,500 |
~730,000 |
