Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre walking tall
May 21, 2015Breaking: Platform fire in Gulf
May 22, 2015
Finally, Louisiana has earned a ranking worth bragging about.
The state earns top billing in the United States economic impact from the nation’s domestic maritime industry, according to a Pricewaterhouse-Coopers study released this spring.
According to the data, Louisiana also ranks first in the U.S. in maritime jobs per capita. One in every 83 jobs is connected to the state’s domestic maritime industry. That figure is nearly twice of that of any other state.
The Transportation Institute commissioned the study.
The latest report comes on the heels of a 2014 study by the U.S.
Maritime Administration that ranked Louisiana third in the nation in commercial and military shipbuilding. That study found that shipbuilding accounts for 29,250 jobs and more than $2.23 billion in annual economic impact for the state.
The PwC study found that Louisiana employs 54,850 in the maritime industry. Collectively, the industry adds more than $11.3 billion annually into the Louisiana economy.
The study took a number of roles into consideration: vessel operators, marine terminals, shipyards and workers who transport cargo within the country.
“Louisiana’s maritime jobs aren’t just important to our state’s economy-they play an incredibly vital role in our national economy,” U.S. Sen. David Vitter said in April when the study results were first released.
The report reinforces local employers’ message that south Louisiana plays a key role in supporting the nation’s booming domestic energy production.
“Louisiana is America’s lifeline
to offshore energy,” SEACOR Marine LLC vice president and chief operating officer Robert Clemons said, demons also chairs the Offshore Marine Service Association. “More than 25 percent of America’s domestic energy is produced offshore. The oil and gas industry depends on the more than 2,000 specialized vessels in the U.S. fleet to carry out seismic research, drill test wells, lay pipe, transport and install production facilities, and continually supply them with personnel, commodities, fuel and equipment.
“Our industry is proud to play an important role in Louisiana’s thriving and robust domestic maritime industry,” he said.
MaritimeProfessional.com reported in April that the state s navigable waterway exceeds 2,800 miles-second only to Alaska’s-and moves more than 500 million tons of domestic and foreign cargo annually.
Louisiana is also home base to the Western Hemisphere’s largest container port based on vessel arrivals.
Transportation Institute reported the domestic maritime industry includes approximately 40,000 vessels, supports 478.440 jobs, and has an annual economic impact of $92.5 billion. Nationwide, the industry also generates approximately $29 billion in wages and $10 billion in tax revenues.
“The impact of the maritime industry in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes is gigantic,” said Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet. “We have tons of people who work shifts-two weeks on and one week off-coming into our area. That added impact is huge for our economy, too.”
Although some segments have experienced slowdowns related to the drop in oil prices, Claudet said a number of companies have gone unscathed.
“You see it just by looking at the Chouests and Bollingers and other people who are gigantic players in this area,” he said.
An added advantage the maritime industry has had on the region is the skilled labor force it has drawn to the region, the parish president explained. “The companies in our oil and gas and maritime industries are major taxpayers for Terrebonne and Lafourche. The impact, too, of the qualified workers who call this area home is absolutely major as well.”
At a recent tourism event in Terrebonne, Claudet brought home the point that oil-and-gas and related industries are vital to the region.
“Oil and gas makes our economy tick,” he said. “People talk about our desire to diversify and have other options like tourism that we can depend on to generate month.” If oil and gas goes down, we are not left with a lot of options. Because we have had maritime and oil and gas to rely on, we haven’t had to look beyond that.”
The fluctuating market is a concern, South Central Industrial Association director Jane Arnette said, “but our people are resilient.”
Besides, the current situation doesn’t compare to the 2010 post-BP spill moratorium, the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes or the oil crashes in the 1980s.
“We survived all of those-we’ll survive this,” Arnette said.
But the recent downturn in the market has made businesses re-examine their workforce.
“Across the board, businesses are looking at what they do in a very specific manner,” she said. “They are looking to get the best bang for their buck. That means looking at budgeting, trimming and refining to adapt to what is happening in the market.”
Like most in the industry, Arnette believes prices will go back up and jobs will remain available. “Sometimes I think these things happen to allow businesses to refocus on best practices.”
Louisiana Leads the Nation in Maritime Jobs
Source: Maritime Workforce Study, LCTCS & LABI
Note: A “location quotient” indicates the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. In the case of captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels, Louisiana’s location quotient is more than 19 times the national average.
For every 1,000 jobs in Louisiana, 4.38 are captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels. Louisiana employs more than 19 times the national rate in these positions. Louisiana is not only the state with the highest concentration of jobs for captains, but the state outright employs more captains than any other state with an estimated 8,260-making up more than a quarter of all captains in the country. California is second with just 2,280. The average mean wage in Louisiana for captains, mates, and pilots is $82,610, which is higher than the national average for these positions ($75,580). Four metropolitan areas in Louisiana rank in the Top 10 nationally for the concentration of captain, mates, and pilot jobs: Houma (No. 1), New Orleans (No. 2), Lafayette (No. 3), and Lake Charles (No. 7). Houma takes the top spot by a landslide with a location quotient 165 times the national average. The annual mean wage range within the state from a low of $70,220 in Lake Charles to a high of $89,090 in the New Orleans area.
In the category of sailors and marine oilers, Louisiana again takes the No. 1 spot with 6,620 workers, which means more than one in five American sailors and marine oilers are based in Louisiana. Texas ranks second with just 2,340 sailors. Louisiana’s average mean wage is slightly higher than the national average at $41,710, but lower than a number of other states. Five metropolitan areas in Louisiana are among the Top 10 most concentrated cities in the country for sailors and marine oilers: Houma (No. 1), New Orleans (No. 2), Lafayette (No. 3), Lake Charles (No. 4), and Baton Rouge (No. 10). Mean annual wages again range widely in-state with $27,380 in Lake Charles to $43,130 in New Orleans.
Ship engineers is the third category of maritime workers where Louisiana ranks No. 1 in the nation. The state narrowly edges out Virginia for the top spot in overall employment of ship engineers with 1,700 out of an estimated 9,930 in the United States. Louisiana employs ship engineers at a rate 12 times higher than the rest of the country, and the annual mean wage is $84,530-significantly higher than the national average of $75,650 and fourth highest of any state. Houma-Thibodaux has the highest concentration of ship engineers in America where the position represents 8.49 of every 1,000 jobs and the annual wage of $93,840 is higher than the state average for ship engineers. New Orleans (No. 4) and Lafayette (No. 9) are also among the Top 10 metro areas with high concentrations of ship engineers.
Ship engineers is the third category of maritime workers where Louisiana ranks No. 1 in the nation. The state narrowly edges out Virginia for the top spot in overall employment of ship engineers with 1,700 out of an estimated 9,930 in the United States. Louisiana employs ship engineers at a rate 12 times higher than the rest of the country, and the annual mean wage is $84,530-significantly higher than the national average of $75,650 and fourth highest of any state. Houma-Thibodaux has the highest concentration of ship engineers in America where the position represents 8.49 of every 1,000 jobs and the annual wage of $93,840 is higher than the state average for ship engineers. New Orleans (No. 4) and Lafayette (No. 9) are also among the Top 10 metro areas with high concentrations of ship engineers.
Louisiana ranks No. 2 in the nation behind Texas for the employment of crane and tower operators with an estimated 3,980-a figure that gain takes the top ranking nationally for concentration of these positions (nearly seven times higher than the rest of the nation). Of note, the annual mean wage is $50,270, which is slightly higher than Texas. Within Louisiana three metro areas are ranked in the Top 10 for cities that employ crane and tower operators: New Orleans (No. 4), Baton Rouge (No. 6), and Houma-Thibodaux (No. 10). With regard to concentration of these positions, Houma again takes No. 1 in the nation at 17 times higher than the national rate.
An Invisible Giant: The Maritime Industry in Louisiana
The state transfers 500 million tons of cargo every year, ranking Louisiana No. 1 in waterborne commerce that accounts for 20 percent of the national total. Much of this activity takes place at more than 28 ports along the coast and inland waterways, including four ports that rank in the top in the United States in total tonnage:
NO. 1 South Louisiana
252 million tons (Wo.1 for the past 10 years)
NO. 4 New Orleans
79 million tons
NO. 9 Baton Rouge
60 million tons
NO. 10 Port of Plaquemines
58 million tons
