Inbound Logistics | July 2025

VIEWPOINT [ INSIGHT ] by Bob Kolasky Senior Vice President of Critical Infrastructure, Exiger and Senior Fellow, Auburn’s McCrary Institute exiger.com/professionals/bob-kolasky | 212-455-9400

Can We Jumpstart American Shipbuilding? In 80 years, U.S. shipbuilding has gone from producing record numbers of hulls during World War II—representing roughly 60% of global merchant tonnage—to just 0.1% today. President Trump’s executive order on “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” aims to reverse this decline.

the component level, we risk repeating the same mistakes. We need a comprehensive investment and policy plan that identies vulnerabilities and builds futureproof capabilities. Additive manufacturing, specialty alloys, and next-gen fabrication should be seen as core pillars—not side R&D projects. Coordination across private industry and government-owned, contractor-operated facilities is critical to scaling production quickly. Fullling the EO’s vision demands a three-part strategy: 1. Design defense and shipbuilding systems around both our current and future industrial base—including working with allies like Canada and Finland. 2. Invest in deep, ongoing visibility into critical materials—managing obsolescence and accelerating innovation in additive and precision manufacturing. 3. Triage funding into systems with durable supply chains that avoid the sustainment backlogs plaguing today’s defense programs. We must treat supply chain intelligence as a strategic function. Without it, even the most ambitious shipbuilding plans risk becoming hollow efforts. n

as the recent idling of Pennsylvania’s Cleveland-Cliffs plant—our suppliers remain fragile without a clear demand signal. Without urgent investment in domestic steel production, we’ll face limited options—or risk relying on foreign entities and sharing sensitive alloy formulas and IP, jeopardizing national security. CREATING DEMAND That’s why the EO emphasizes demand creation across the entire shipbuilding ecosystem. This includes understanding which materials and capabilities are needed today and in the future, so the public and private sectors can invest in developing them domestically. Strengthening the maritime industrial workforce is part of this equation. Past efforts like the CHIPS Act haven’t addressed the full industrial picture. Without insight into supply chain gaps at

It’s an ambitious task: while other countries have invested in advanced production, the United States has grown dependent on foreign-built ships and components. Revitalizing U.S. shipbuilding requires a complete overhaul of domestic maritime supply chains. Section 4 of the Executive Order (EO) tasks the Departments of Commerce, Transportation, and Homeland Security with identifying critical components in these supply chains, making them investment priorities. The EO ties these efforts to broader economic growth and national defense capabilities. However, shipbuilding cannot succeed in isolation. It relies on a strained industrial base that supports all major defense manufacturing. For example, ship hulls require specialized U.S.-sourced steel, like cannon-grade armor plate, which is increasingly scarce. With steel mills declining—such

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