The maritime industry is at the heart of global trade—but underinvestment and aging infrastructure have strained its reliability. In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson, President of LMA Consulting Group, explores why it is important to revitalize maritime power and the initiatives underway.

The global logistics industry is $8-15 trillion depending on what’s included, and this is before accounting for shipbuilding related to the military.  Thus, the maritime industry is powerful and drives significant value in the economy. Clearly, it is cornerstone in trade, and it also is of critical importance to national defense. 

If you look at the supply vs demand with a SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning) viewpoint for U.S. / North America, they are out of whack.  Demand has been robust as the ocean freight and global shipping industry has been robust for many years and spiked during the pandemic. Last year, volumes were up in North American ports by 11% from 2023. On the other hand, supply is miniscule. Only .2% of ships were built in the U.S. vs 74% in China which equates to 8 ships vs 1000 ships. From a commercial standpoint for ships that move commodities, the U.S. produced 0 ships. In 1951, the U.S. had 1200 large, privately owned merchant vessels, and this number has declined to 180. Thus, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that we must start realigning the ship so to speak. 

President Trump issued an executive order to revitalize maritime power. It is focused on rebuilding the shipbuilding industry and repairs as well as the port industries. It will create new maritime prosperity zones and not allow dumping of commercial ships. Additionally, it will focus on training Maritimers and rebuilding the skilled workforce. The importance of streamlining procurement and deregulating have also been key topics to support this revitalization.

In this industry, every 1 job will create 5 jobs. The end-to-end supply chain includes mines, steel mills, forging factories, and advanced electronic firms. Thus, as the shipbuilding industry is rebuilt, it will stimulate a boom in the industrial economy. There will be vast opportunities for organizations prepared to take advantage of the growth and advancements. Skilled resources will be in high demand! 

From port congestion to national competitiveness, maritime investment is no longer optional. Learn what opportunities are in store for businesses that support the maritime industry.