New Economic Study Affirms Benefits of Domestic Maritime Industry

Mirroring news about the U.S. port industry’s direct job impacts in the release in March of Martin Associates’ 2018 National Economic Impact of the U.S. Coastal Port System, a newly-released study published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the Transportation Institute affirms the impressive economic benefits of the domestic maritime industry. The Transportation Institute’s study also supports AAPA’s longstanding assertion that the job and other economic benefits provided by the U.S. maritime industry are harmed when the federal government under-invests in the water- and land-side infrastructure (e.g., roads, rails, bridges, tunnels and federal navigation channels) necessary to keep cargo moving efficiently.

Specifically, the report finds that the Jones Act-enabled maritime industry:

• Contributes more than $154 billion in total economic output annually
• Creates $41 billion in labor income for American workers each year
• Adds $72 billion annually to the value of U.S. economic output
• Sustains nearly 650,000 American jobs, with one shipyard job creating four jobs elsewhere in the       economy

For more information about the Transportation Institute’s new study, click here.