Protected US Shipbuilding Continues to Sink

Colin Grabow

Defenders of the protectionist Jones Act often insist that the law’s prohibition on the use of foreign-built vessels in domestic commerce ensures a robust domestic shipbuilding industrial base. But data released by UNCTAD last week demonstrates that such claims rest on a rather loose definition of “robust.” In 2024, the United States — the world’s second-largest manufacturing country with a 17 percent share of world output — accounted for a mere 0.04 percent of global commercial shipbuilding.