This is a battle America can win.
January 15, 2024 – The mismatch between the Navy’s proposed fleet size and shipbuilding plans, and America’s strained shipbuilding capacity, is among the hottest topics in defense policy circles. “More ships” must become a battle cry in the Navy and across the defense department, with strong support from the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, and Treasury. The US Congress is already gearing up for this fight, and President-elect Donald Trump has strongly signaled his continuing support for domestic commercial shipbuilding programs.
This is a battle America can win – again. Back in 1941, the first Liberty Ships launched and became a symbol of America’s World War II “Arsenal of Democracy.” At the height of World War II, U.S. shipyards launched three of those cargo vessels every two days, to carry supplies across the Atlantic. In total, American shipyards built 2751 Liberty ships, along with their faster, bigger sisters, the 531 Victory ships. The U.S. doesn’t need to repeat that miracle, but it is time to apply the same sense of urgency to supporting the thousands of companies that build and sustain our ships.
Today, most Americans would be surprised to learn that the U.S. accounts for 0.2% of global shipbuilding in 2022, U.S yards had only five large commercial oceangoing ships under construction, while China was building nearly 1,800. It’s a longstanding problem. The most recent decline in U.S. oceangoing shipbuilding began in the 1980s, and was, for a time, offset by robust Navy ship construction. All along the Jones Act has undergirded some limited domestic ship construction for shipments between U.S. ports.
However, the U.S. is at a point where the nation must commit to building more American ships – a lot more – every year for the foreseeable future. “Most of the goods that come into our country, at least about 80 percent, come on ships,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, (D-Ariz.,), a Merchant Marine Academy graduate. “This is a huge vulnerability. And if China wanted to leverage their dominant role in global shipping to hurt our country, to hurt Americans, they could easily do that.”
This will take leadership. The incoming Trump Administration is keen to counter China, raise defense spending, and revitalize U.S. manufacturing, and the President’s chosen National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, has been leading the efforts in Congress to strengthen U.S. maritime power. The President must make strengthening the U.S. maritime industrial base a national priority.
There is no time to spare. Even with wartime demand, it took months for the U.S. defense industrial base to ramp up production of artillery shells for Ukraine. It will take years to build a larger commercial and military fleet. Early steps to encourage more ship production could include:
Thinning out the environmental and other regulations that discourage heavy industry. Greenhouse gas emission reductions are already affecting the maritime industry with requirements for alternative fuels, slower sailing speeds and new ship designs.
Providing tax, cost-sharing and other incentives that favor U.S.-built ships. The bipartisan Ships for America Act introduced by Sen. Kelly and Rep. Waltz in 2024 took aim at rebuilding domestic commercial ship production.
Deepening the talent pool for both shipyards and suppliers by supporting companies’ efforts to improve pay, benefits, and other incentives. A recent survey of the more than 2,000 companies that support aircraft carrier production and repair found that 85% of aircraft carrier suppliers have difficulty hiring, training and retaining qualified employees. These concerns are mirrored beyond the carrier supply chain, particularly where skilled trades are concerned. Construction of the additional submarines envisioned in the Australia-U.K.-U.S (AUKUS) partnership, for example, will require 100,000 additional shipyard employees.
Immediately preparing and strengthening small suppliers and distributors through advance purchases and stockpiling of known and common ship parts and components would stimulate the industry. Even the best and most aggressive plans can only succeed if the hundreds of small suppliers they rely on are ready and capable. The big shipyards can only build big ships if these small and mid-sized companies stay healthy.
Another step is ensuring that ongoing efforts to identify gaps and weaknesses in the broader defense industrial base (DIB) fully account for the full extent of the shipbuilding supply chain, including companies focused mostly or entirely on commercial platforms.
All solutions depend on better connectivity to local education and training centers through work-study, mentoring, and on-the-job training programs. In this regard, the shipbuilding industrial base is likely to benefit from a refreshing national development – the growing favor with which young Americans view careers in the skilled trades and manufacturing – and we can encourage this welcome shift by providing at least as much government support for young people entering the trades as we now provide for students to attend four-year colleges.
America’s greatest national security challenge for the foreseeable future is our multi-dimensional competition with the People’s Republic of China. It’s a competition that can’t be won without maritime power.
John Luddy is a Non-Resident Fellow of the Lexington Institute.
This article was originally published on the Lexington Institute: “More Ships” Must Become a Battle Cry for Today’s Maritime Industrial Base | Lexington Institute