Two out of the three of those are heavily military-based, and thanks to the cold war, the US and Russia have been heavily investing in the military for over hal

Two out of the three of those are heavily military-based, and thanks to the cold war, the US and Russia have been heavily investing in the military for over half a century. So maybe that's not a fair comparison to make. Besides manufacturing capability, I think determining whether something is a "failed state" or not, you need to look at other things, focusing more on social details. Is the government truly democratic? Is the law applied more-or-less fairly and equally? Is the press free, and are people able to discuss things without fear? Aside from manufacturing exports, how is the internal economy - are people able to afford the basics, and things that might be considered luxuries? How's education, how's the ability to travel both internally and externally, how's economic and social mobility? I don't think container-ship-tonnage is a great metric of whether something is a failed state or not.