House panel told: U.S. commercial shipyards are booming

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 — “The state of the U.S. commercial shipyard industry is the strongest it has been in decades,” Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), today told the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

Mr. Paxton was testifying at a hearing on America’s domestic maritime industry with a special focus on how the industry is responding to America’s surging domestic energy production.

Mr. Paxton said 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.

“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,” Mr. Paxton said. “Commercial markets are witnessing a boom not seen in decades, representing billions of dollars in new investments to our economy. 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. shipbuilders delivered 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.

Mr. 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,” Mr. 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.”

You can read Mr. Paxton’s full testimony HERE