Internationalization and the Collapse of British Shipbuilding, 1945-1973

This chapter studies the collapse of British shipbuilding, in attempt to determine how directly it was linked to the internationalisation of the shipping industry. Lewis Johnman asserts that the lack of response from the British shipbuilding industry to the post Second World War boom in the international industry is a core reason for its decline. To prove this, the chapter considers the globalisation of shipping in post-war context; the second phase of the internationalisation of the world economy; the Norwegian market; the Japanese presence in the industry; and the failure of British Shipbuilding in both international and domestic markets during the period.