MARAD report: Nation’s shipyards support $42.4B in GDP

© Shutterstock

A new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has found that America’s private shipyards support $42.4 billion in gross domestic product.

The report, The Economic Importance of the U.S. Private Shipbuilding and Repairing Industry, looked at the industry’s economic importance at the state and national level in 2019.

“Shipyards create good jobs and support economic growth–not just in the areas surrounding our ports and waterways, but across the nation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

According to the report, the country’s 154 private shipyards directly provide more than 107,000 jobs and contribute $9.9 billion in labor income to the national economy. On a nationwide basis – including direct, indirect, and induced impacts – the industry supported more than 393,000 jobs and contributed $28.1 billion in labor income.

As part of the American Jobs Plan, the Biden Administration has proposed $17 billion to support inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry, and ferries. The investments would make the American infrastructure more resilient, the administration said, while improving efficiency and creating new capacity to move freight in the U.S.

“The report issued by MARAD confirms that shipyards are vital economic engines in addition to being essential components of our industrial base,” said Acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley. “The skilled jobs created by shipyards are not only essential to supporting our military and our commerce, they are contributing to the economic success of communities all over the United States.”