{"id":6053,"date":"2025-09-18T13:59:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/?p=6053"},"modified":"2025-09-18T13:59:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:59:23","slug":"the-state-of-us-shipbuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"The State of US Shipbuilding"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Image courtesy of GVZ 43 \/ Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

The State of US Shipbuilding<\/h1>\n

The US shipbuilding industry stands at a pivotal moment. Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions. Limited domestic investment and heavy reliance on foreign fleets have raised concerns about economic competitiveness and supply chain resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n

In April 2025, the White House announced an <\/span>executive order<\/span><\/a> with the goal of \u201cRestoring America\u2019s Maritime Dominance\u201d. Through the executive order, a number of government agencies were tasked with creating a Maritime Action Plan (MAP) to address the current challenges facing US shipbuilding. The initiative emphasizes modernizing US shipyards, expanding capacity for commercial vessel production, and supporting workforce development to ensure a steady pipeline of skilled labor. Beyond strengthening national security, the plan\u2019s goal is to reinvigorate shipbuilding as a driver of economic growth by creating high-paying jobs, bolstering coastal communities, and positioning the US to compete more effectively in global trade.<\/span><\/p>\n

China\u2019s Ascendancy and US Reliance on International Partners<\/h3>\n

China built more commercial vessels by tonnage in 2024 than the United States has built in entirety since WW2, as reported by the <\/span>Center for Strategic & International Studies<\/span><\/a>. For decades, America\u2019s shipbuilding strength has been concentrated in naval construction, while its capacity for commercial ship production has steadily eroded.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, the United States has increasingly turned to other countries to acquire the commercial vessels it needs to move goods around the world. Today, a large share of the container ships, tankers, and bulk carriers that keep American trade flowing are built in Asia or Europe, not at US yards. While this reliance has kept costs down for shipping companies, it has also left the nation dependent on foreign-built fleets to support its economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Analysts warn that this imbalance carries long-term risks. Without a robust domestic commercial shipbuilding industry, the US is vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, higher costs, and limited control over the ships that underpin global commerce.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image courtesy of Jan Libbertz \/ Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

Shipbuilding Provides a Massive Local Economic Impact<\/h3>\n

Shipbuilding has a big impact on local communities. The industry supports over <\/span>110,000 American jobs<\/span><\/a> and contributes roughly $37.3 billion each year to the economy. Shipyard workers earn roughly 50% more than the average private-sector wage, providing stable, middle-class opportunities in an era when many manufacturing jobs have disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reach of shipbuilding extends beyond the shipyards themselves. Each vessel requires parts and expertise from a wide network of suppliers, from steel producers and equipment manufacturers to engineering firms and logistics providers. This ripple effect supports thousands of additional jobs in related industries, strengthening local economies far beyond the waterfront.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many <\/span>communities<\/span><\/a>, shipbuilding is also a matter of identity. Coastal towns in Maine, Virginia, the Gulf Coast, and the Pacific Northwest were once bustling centers of maritime activity. Bath Iron Works in Maine, for example, has been building ships for more than 130 years and remains one of the region\u2019s largest employers. In Virginia, Newport News Shipbuilding (the largest shipyard in the United States and one of the biggest in the world) employs tens of thousands and sustains a wide network of local businesses. Along the Gulf Coast, facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana serve as major commercial and naval shipbuilding hubs, while on the West Coast, shipyards in San Diego and Seattle continue to support both defense and commercial projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Renewed investment in the industry has the potential to change the trajectory for these regions. By modernizing shipyards and investing in workforce training, the US can not only compete more effectively in global trade but also breathe new life into communities that helped build its maritime legacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image courtesy of Raimond Klavins \/ Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

Prioritizing Military Readiness<\/h3>\n

Also in President Trump\u2019s executive order is an emphasis on the military benefits of support for the shipbuilding industry. Various sections include a desire to modernize the Merchant Marine Academy alongside establishing control of the Arctic waterways, a long time goal of the US government, and creating an inactive reserve fleet. These parts of the executive order fall under the direction of the Secretary of Defense, instead of the Secretary of Labor or Secretary of Transportation as other sections do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, a Maritime Security Trust Fund will be funded by \u201cnew or existing tariff revenue, fines, fees, or tax revenue\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Progress Has US Shipbuilding Seen from the Maritime Action Plan?<\/h3>\n

Since the plan was introduced in April, federal funding has begun flowing into shipyard upgrades and workforce training programs aimed at modernizing facilities and attracting new talent. For example, Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia has received support to expand its <\/span>training pipeline<\/span><\/a> for welders and shipfitters, while Bath Iron Works in Maine is using federal investment to adopt new <\/span>digital ship design technologies<\/span><\/a> that streamline production.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond traditional naval hubs, new partnerships are forming to extend America\u2019s commercial shipbuilding capacity. Along the Gulf Coast, shipyards in <\/span>Mississippi<\/span><\/a> and Louisiana are exploring collaborations with private shipping companies to increase the construction of container ships and offshore support vessels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Maritime Action Plan is also encouraging <\/span>supply chain development<\/span><\/a>. Grants have been directed toward domestic steel and component suppliers to ensure shipbuilders can source critical materials within the US rather than relying on overseas providers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the US still has a long way to go to catch up to China\u2019s sheer output, these efforts mark a turning point. For the first time in decades, the focus is not just on maintaining naval strength but also on building a competitive commercial shipbuilding industry that can support trade, create jobs, and reduce dependence on foreign-built vessels. Together, these steps signal an important shift toward restoring America\u2019s maritime strength and ensuring the industry is positioned for long-term growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stay Up to Date with Sheltered International<\/h2>\n

Global economies shift every day. SiShips puts the shipper in control, offering efficient and cost-effective ways to transport your product.<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about our personalized expertise and state-of-the-art software, contact us today.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The State of US Shipbuilding The US shipbuilding industry stands at a pivotal moment. Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":6055,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe State of US Shipbuilding - SiShips<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The State of US Shipbuilding - SiShips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SiShips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T13:59:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gvz-42-L3wPmTo_ZkU-unsplash-scaled-e1758203766754.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1126\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sheltered International\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SiShips\",\"description\":\"Logistics Provider\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gvz-42-L3wPmTo_ZkU-unsplash-scaled-e1758203766754.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gvz-42-L3wPmTo_ZkU-unsplash-scaled-e1758203766754.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1126,\"caption\":\"Image courtesy of GVZ 43 \/ Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/\",\"name\":\"The State of US Shipbuilding - SiShips\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-18T13:59:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T13:59:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad560f64a71bf22da416314436b330c6\"},\"description\":\"Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The State of US Shipbuilding\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad560f64a71bf22da416314436b330c6\",\"name\":\"Sheltered International\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32a849c5bb8bf71dddc425122b91b57d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32a849c5bb8bf71dddc425122b91b57d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sheltered International\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/author\/kchambersmeerkatmediagroup-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The State of US Shipbuilding - SiShips","description":"Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The State of US Shipbuilding - SiShips","og_description":"Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions.","og_url":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/","og_site_name":"SiShips","article_published_time":"2025-09-18T13:59:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1126,"url":"http:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gvz-42-L3wPmTo_ZkU-unsplash-scaled-e1758203766754.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sheltered International","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/","name":"SiShips","description":"Logistics Provider","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gvz-42-L3wPmTo_ZkU-unsplash-scaled-e1758203766754.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gvz-42-L3wPmTo_ZkU-unsplash-scaled-e1758203766754.jpg","width":2560,"height":1126,"caption":"Image courtesy of GVZ 43 \/ Unsplash"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/","name":"The State of US Shipbuilding - SiShips","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-09-18T13:59:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T13:59:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad560f64a71bf22da416314436b330c6"},"description":"Once a leader in maritime innovation, America has fallen behind global competitors, particular in commercial ship productions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/the-state-of-us-shipbuilding\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The State of US Shipbuilding"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad560f64a71bf22da416314436b330c6","name":"Sheltered International","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32a849c5bb8bf71dddc425122b91b57d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32a849c5bb8bf71dddc425122b91b57d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sheltered International"},"url":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/author\/kchambersmeerkatmediagroup-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6053"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6062,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6053\/revisions\/6062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siships.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}