South Korea’s HD Hyundai signed an agreement with Siemens to apply digital manufacturing technologies to American shipyards, as the struggling US commercial shipbuilding sector seeks foreign expertise to close the gap with Asian competitors.
The partnership, announced Saturday during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, builds on a platform the companies have developed since 2023 that consolidates design and production data. The arrangement calls for automated block assembly systems and virtual simulations to reduce shop floor errors, according to Moon Sangmin, HD Hyundai’s global strategy head.
The collaboration comes as the US constructs just five or six large commercial vessels annually, compared with more than 1,000 in China and hundreds in South Korea. HD Hyundai’s push into American waters aligns with the Trump administration’s shipbuilding revitalization efforts, which include a $150 billion investment fund established through bilateral trade negotiations this year.
The Korean conglomerate has already secured partnerships with Huntington Ingalls Industries for naval work and Edison Chouest Offshore for commercial projects. Training programs linked to the University of Michigan and MIT aim to develop a workforce capable of operating advanced manufacturing systems.
Whether digital tools alone can revive an industry that has lost competitive ground over decades remains uncertain. American yards face structural challenges including higher labor costs and limited production scale that automation may not fully address.
