Contact: DEAN R. HAEN
PHONE: (920) 492-4950 FAX: (920) 492-4957
New study shows growing economic impact of ports across America
(Green Bay, WI) – Seaports, like the Port of Green Bay, deliver prosperity! The evidence is overwhelming in a new report on the economic impacts of U.S. seaports that shows the contributions of America’s ports in 2014 equaled $4.6 trillion, or more than one-quarter of the country’s economy.
The findings from the 2014 National Economic Impact of the U.S. Coastal Port System report were released at the recent American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2015 Spring Conference. The report was issued by Martin Associates, a leading provider of economic and strategic assessments of the world’s transportation systems.
In the seven years since the last nationwide ports economic impact study, the contributions of America’s seaports to the nation’s economy have risen dramatically. While overall economic impacts increased 43 percent, other notable gains since 2007 include:
-Jobs generated by port-related activity jumped 74 percent to 23.1 million;
-Federal, state and local tax revenues generated by port-sector and importer/exporter revenues rose 51 percent to $321.1 billion; and,
-Personal wages and local consumption related to the port-sector increased from $649 billion to $1.1 trillion, with the average annual salary of those directly employed by port-related businesses equating to $53,723.
“The growth in jobs and economic importance of America’s seaports reflects the fact that the value of international cargo handled at these ports increased by $400 billion since 2007, reaching about $1.8 trillion in 2014,” said Dr. John Martin, president of Martin Associates. “It’s important to emphasize that the key growth in our international trade was in U.S. exports, which saw a 60 percent increase in value over the past seven years.”
At the local level, the Port of Green Bay provides $88 million in economic impact and supports more than 800 jobs. “Both the new impressive national numbers and the Port of Green Bay’s local contributions show that ports generate huge economic impact and jobs,” said Dean Haen, Director of Brown County Port & Resource Recovery. “It also shows how important it is that investment in our ports and landside transportation infrastructure be a high priority so that the U.S. can remain a global competitor, providing these positive impacts for generations to come.”
AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle agreed. “The fact is that while over a quarter of the U.S. economy is accounted for by port cargo activity, freight connections to our ports are crumbling, putting our economy at risk and reducing America’s competitiveness in global markets,” Nagle said.
For more information on the Port, visit www.portofgreenbay.com or Twitter @PortofGreenBay.
