US marine economy continued upward trend in 2022

The American marine economy continued to bolster the US in 2022 as demonstrated by increased sales and jobs. This is according to the most recent statistics from the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account (MESA) released by two Department of Commerce agencies – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The marine economy contributed a total ofUS $476 billion in economic impact in 2022, making up nearly two per cent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). It also generated US$777 billion in sales.

The largest contributors to GDP are tourism and recreation, with US$163 billion; national defence and public administration, with US$149 billion; and offshore minerals, with US$62 billion. The sales sectors that showed the most growth for 2022 include ship and boat building (up 14.6 per cent), coastal tourism and recreation (up 8.1 per cent), and marine transportation and warehousing (up seven per cent).

For the first time, MESA includes information on wind energy and alternative power generation, allowing for a greater understanding of the offshore wind industry's importance to the nation's economy. Wind farm construction totaled US$161 million in sales, and alternative power generation totaled US$10 million in sales.

These data reflect a period from 2017 to 2022 and is the most comprehensive and accurate produced to date. The marine economic statistics validate previous estimates of the marine economy's value.

The 10 sectors, ranked by sales, adjusted for inflation, and percentage change compared to the previous year:

• Tourism and recreation, US$220 billion, up 8.1 per cent
• National defence and public administration, US$194 billion, down 2.5 per cent
• Offshore minerals, US$66 billion, down 1.3 per cent
• Transportation and warehousing, US$56 billion, up seven per cent
• Living resources, US$31 billion, down 6.7 per cent
• Ship and boat building, US$20 billion, up 14.6 per cent
• Coastal utilities, US$15 billion, down 3.2 per cent
• Research and education, US$12 billion, up four per cent
• Professional and technical services, US$8 billion, down 5.5 per cent
• Marine construction, US$7 billion, up 3.1 per cent

The report, data and other information are available at NOAA's Digital Coast website and on the BEA Marine Economy website. MESA's statistics reflect 2022 data, given data availability and the analysis process.