A continuing decline in the US shipbuilding industry is currently forecast based on projected naval and commercial shipbuilding programs. Of primary concern is that this decline will seriously reduce the mobilization potential of the country and that reductions in the skilled work force will make any required buildup very difficult both in the primary and supporting shipbuilding industries. The purpose of this paper is to review the current status of the shipbuilding industry, recount the factors that led to the current condition, and examine the prospects for proposed changes in government policy which, if enacted, signal major new directions in the shipbuilding industry.