Bath Iron Works contributed $980M to Maine GDP last year

FILE PHOTO / TIM GREENWAY Bath Iron Works supported more than $1.8 billion in total economic output in 2021, including $980 million contributed to state GDP, a USM study shows.

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By Peter Van Allen

Bath Iron Works supported more than $1.8 billion in total economic output in 2021, including $980 million contributed to state GDP, a new report released by the shipyard shows.

The report says that the shipyard contributes 17% of Maine’s production gross domestic product each year and accounts for 12% of the state’s manufacturing workforce.

BIW, founded in 1884 and situated in a prominent spot on the Kennebec River in Bath, is owned by General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). Its 6,500 employees produce U.S. Navy destroyers.

The report, written by Ryan Wallace of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine, says the shipyard’s 5-year impact supported $8.4 billion in economic activity, of which $4.4 billion was added to Maine’s gross domestic product.

BIW’s payroll in 2021 was $380 million. It also spent $464 million on Maine suppliers in that period. Including multiplier effects, the shipyard supports 11,600, including its core of 6,500 on-site employees.

Over the past five years, the shipyard generated an average of $44 million a year in state and local tax revenue. The shipyard accounts for a third of the city of Bath’s total tax base, including $5 million in property taxes in 2020.

From 2016-21, BIW hired 6,363 workers. At the peak of hiring, between 2019-21, the shipyard brought on more than 1,800 people a year.

Entry level production workers received a raise of 9% in April. Starting production workers now earn $23.50 an hour, while experienced production workers make $35 an hour. Looking at three core entry-level positions, the USM report said a worker starting at $33,000 a year could increase to $60,000 a year within five years.

BIW is one of two major shipyards in Maine, along with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the U.S. Navy’s oldest continuously operating shipyard, which overhauls and maintains submarines.

In September, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s advocacy group, the Seacoast Shipyard Association, reported that the Kittery shipyard last year had an economic impact of $1.3 billion and had a civilian workforce of roughly 7,200.