AWO: U.S. tugboat, barge industry contributes over $33b in annual GDP

The American Waterways Operators has released a study documenting the contribution of the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry on the nation’s economy.    The American Waterways Operators (AWO) released a study Monday documenting the contribution of the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry on the nation’s economy.
   The study was developed through a cooperative agreement between AWO and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, and conducted through multinational professional services and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
   Study data was from 2014, the most recent year for which a consistent set of data was available, the study said.
   During the year, the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry directly employed 50,480 workers and contributed $9 billion to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).
   Ranked by direct jobs in 2014, the industry was the largest in Louisiana (15,620 jobs), Texas (5,560 jobs), Kentucky (3,320 jobs), Florida (2,680 jobs) and New York (2,470 jobs). These five states collectively accounted for 59 percent of direct employment in the industry.
   The U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry supported an additional 251,070 indirect and induced jobs in other sectors of the economy during the year.
   Including the indirect and induced jobs, the industry supported 301,550 jobs in 2014, and its total impact on the nation’s GDP reached $33.8 billion.
   The study defined direct impacts as jobs, labor income, value added and taxes directly attributable to the industry; and indirect impacts as jobs, labor income, value added and taxes occurring throughout the industry’s supply chain.
   Induced impacts comprise the jobs, labor income, value added, and taxes resulting from household spending of labor and proprietor’s income earned either directly or indirectly from the industry’s spending.
   In addition to the economic benefits the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry provides, the study noted how a number of studies suggest that the industry provides an efficient, low-cost method for shipping various commodities, adding how barge traffic is able to move large cargo volumes over long distances.
   “Studies indicate that the U.S. tugboat, towboat, and barge industry provides a low-cost means of freight transportation,” it said. “Studies also indicate that the U.S. tugboat, towboat, and barge industry provides a fuel-efficient means for transporting freight”
   In 2014, there were 5,476 tugboats, towboats and push boats and 31,043 barges operating on the nation’s waterways.
   By volume the Mississippi River System was the most important inland waterway for waterborne commerce with 718.6 million tons of cargo moved in 2014, of which 509.1 million tons were shipped between U.S. ports.
   Meanwhile, 132.3 million tons of cargo moved on the Great Lakes during the year, 95.5 million tons of which were shipped between U.S. ports.