A few weeks after the presidential electio[ds_preview]n, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has applauded the plan of Donald Trump to expand and strengthen the national naval forces fleet.
The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) and his President Matthew Paxton, representing 40 companies that own and operate over 82 shipyards, released a statement and congratulated the President-elect Trump and the elected congress members, adding that it »looks forward to working with them on a positive agenda with a strong commitment to jobs, infrastructure projects and building up America’s Armed Forces and industrial base.«
Shortly after the election, Donald Trump had revealed plans to support the industry by increasing the naval fleet from around 270 to 350 vessels, as its current state would not be appropriate for todays and future tasks.
SCA and the entire U.S. shipyard industry would stand ready to work with the new Administration and Congress. »We are optimistic that in addition to building towards a 350-ship Navy, we can work together on policies that remove the uncertainty of sequestration, encourage predictable funding levels and building ships ‘smarter’ and more efficiently, including pursuing alternative funding strategies in addition to substantial and sustained funding to maximize taxpayer dollars«, it was added.
According to the SCA, the shipyard industry supports over 399,000 jobs, contributing $25.1 billion in labor income and $37.3 billion in U.S. GDP across the country. »More than 5000 suppliers, many of whom are small businesses, need predictability and stability in funding for Navy ships in order to invest in the procurement process«, the council said.
The SCA members have facilities on all three U.S. coasts, the Great Lakes, the inland waterways system, Alaska and Hawaii.
