U.S. COMMERCIAL SHIPYARD INDUSTRY

• The Shipbuilders Council of America is the largest and most broad-based national trade association representing the U.S. shipyard industry that primarily builds and repairs commercial vessels.

Employees

• The U.S. commercial shipyard industry employees more than 50,000 workers building and maintaining non-Navy vessels
• Commercial shipyard employees pay more than $200 million annually in state and local taxes

Economic Impact

• New Construction and repair of vessels generates more than $500 million in annual payrolls for shipyard employees
• More than 2,000 vessels are built each year
• American commercial shipyards purchase more than $2 billion annually in materials to maintain the U.S. merchant fleet contributing significantly to the ability of U.S. marine equipment manufacturers to employ more than 30,000 employees in their factories
• U.S. shipyards receive no government subsidies

New Technology

• Shipyards building commercial vessels are leaders in developing innovative technologies, making the industry more efficient, safer and environmentally sound
• American commercial shipyards provide the industrial base needed during time of national emergency at no cost to the government

SMALL AND MID-SIZED SHIPYARDS

There are over 200 small and mid-tier shipyards located throughout the inland river and coastal waterway system of the United States. They operate in 33 states, from Maine to Alaska and Florida to California; most are located on the Gulf Coast, Mississippi or Ohio River systems, and in the Pacific Northwest. Individual yards range in size from small family-owned yards with a few dozen employees to state-of-the-art facilities with hundreds and even thousands of workers. These yards build and repair the nation's fleet of 6,200 towboats and tugboats, 32,000 barges of all kinds, and ferries, as well as ocean going vessels. In times of national emergency, small and mid-tier shipyards repair and service the barges and towboats that transport vital cargoes. Without the skilled technicians, equipment, and established infrastructure of these shipyards, America's domestic freight transportation system would come to a halt, and America would lose a vital link in its defense posture.

• Over 50,000 Americans in 33 states are directly employed in the building, repair and maintenance of Jones Act vessels
• No government construction subsidies are paid to Jones Act builders or repairers
• New construction, repair and maintenance of Jones Act vessels generate over $1 billion in annual payrolls for shipyard employees
• Shipyard employees building or repairing Jones Act vessels contribute approximately $250,000,000 annually in federal and state taxes
• The Jones Act fleet is comprised of 44,000 plus vessels representing a capital investment by American companies of approximately $26 billion
• The size and average 30-year life of the Jones Act fleet dictates that about 2,000 replacement vessels will be required each year just to maintain the fleet at current capacity
• Building an average of 2,000 replacement vessels annually will create and sustain 20,000 shipyard jobs. New construction of an "average" Jones Act vessel creates 10 shipyard jobs
• Shipyards purchase approximately $1.9 billion in materials annually to build and repair Jones Act vessels
• Purchases generated through the building and repair of Jones Act vessels contribute significantly to the ability of U.S. marine equipment manufacturers to employ approximately 30,000 direct employees in their factories
• Shipyards building Jones Act vessels have been leaders in developing innovative technologies

Building and repairing Jones Act vessels allow shipyards to stay in operation during times of peace, making resources readily available during times of war.