State of American Shipbuilding is Strong: Shipbuilders Council

Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) informs that The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing today on America’s domestic maritime industry with a special focus on how the industry is responding to America’s surging domestic energy production.

Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), testified that the state of America’s commercial shipbuilding industry is strong, more vibrant than ever, and that U.S. shipyards are experiencing dramatic growth as a result of the shale oil revolution and record levels of new vessel construction orders and deliveries.

"The state of the U.S. commercial shipyard industry is the strongest it has been in decades,” said Paxton.  “Our industry, which includes thousands of businesses supporting vessel construction, is a vibrant manufacturing sector employing hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states. Commercial markets are witnessing a boom notseen in decades, representing billions of dollars in new investments to oureconomy. This is all while American shipyards continue to deliver the largest and most sophisticated Navy and Coast Guard in the world.”

In 2012, U.S. shipbuildersdelivered 1,260 vessels worth more than $20 billion in revenue, according to a recent study conducted by the Maritime Administration. Nationwide, the U.S.shipbuilding and repair industry supports more than 400,000 jobs, which pumps $36 billion into America’s economy.

Over the past year, U.S. shipyards have entered into hundreds of contracts for new vessels, including the construction of state of the art oil tankers and the world’s first LNG-powered containership that the White House recently recognized as critical to the future of maritime transportation. Paxton noted that vessels under construction will add almost 6.4 million barrels of new capacity to the domestic fleet in addition to the more than 8.2 million barrels of capacity that were added last year.

“This is a very exciting time for our industry because U.S. shipyards are quickly becoming world leaders in innovation as they construct new technologically advanced vessels like the first LNG powered containership in the world,” Paxton said.  “Shipyards also have a big impact on their local communities and the country at large. With more than 300 facilities located in 27 states, and a supplier base that can be found in all 435 Congressional Districts, each direct job leads to almost three indirect jobs nationally.”
 
Paxton’s full testimony before the U.S. House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/1whdb1l

Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) members constitute the shipyard industrial base that builds, repairs, maintains and modernizes U.S. Navy ships and craft, U.S. Coast Guard vessels of all sizes, as well as vessels for other U.S. government agencies. In addition, SCA members build, repair and service America's fleet of commercial vessels. The Council represents 40 companies that own and operate over 85 shipyards, with facilities on all three U.S. coasts, the Great Lakes, the inland waterways system, Alaska and Hawaii. SCA also represents 96 partner members that provide goods and services to the shipyard industry.

www.shipbuilders.org.