By Mark Edward Nero
The private shipbuilding and repair industry in the US
provided more than 110,000 jobs across all 50 states in 2013 and contributed more
than $37 billion to the gross domestic product, according to a newly released
study by the Maritime Administration.
In 2013, the US private shipbuilding and repairing industry
directly provided 110,390 jobs, $9.2 billion in labor income, and $10.7 billion
in gross domestic product to the national economy, according to the study,
which was released the first week of November.
Including direct, indirect, and induced impacts, on a
nationwide basis, total economic activity associated with the industry reached
399,420 jobs, $25.1 billion of labor income, and $37.3 billion in GDP in 2013,
the document states.
The states with the highest reported levels of overall
direct, indirect, and induced employment associated with the industry were
Virginia, California, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
There are currently 124 shipyards in the United States,
spread across 26 states, that are classified as active shipbuilders. There are
also more than 200 shipyards engaged in ship repairs or capable of building
ships but not actively engaged in shipbuilding.
Employment in shipbuilding and repairing is concentrated in
a relatively small number of coastal states, with the top five states
accounting for 63 percent of all private employment in the shipbuilding and
repairing industry.
“Everything that shipbuilding meant in 1789, it still means
today,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “In 2015, American
shipbuilders ensure that our nation can build and maintain the vessels that our
military needs to keep our nation secure. In 2015, American shipbuilders still
provide essential commercial vessels (that) enable domestic commerce on our
inland waterways and link to our domestic energy supplies.”
The full MARAD report is available at http://www.marad.dot.gov/wp-content/uploads/pdf/MARAD_Econ_Study_Final_Report_2015.pdf
