Shipping

Water is the leading transportation mode for U.S.-international freight trade. "Ships moved 44.6 percent of the total value and 78.6 percent of the total weight of all freight traded in 2022," according to the International Trade Administration. In 2022, there were an estimated 1,780 establishments in the maritime transport industry. The International Maritime Organization reports that international shipping moves more than 90 percent of global trade to people and communities across the globe.

Global maritime trade volumes reached 12,292 million tons in 2023, according to 2024 Review of Maritime Transport, from the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development. "Trade in ton-miles (a measure of distance-adjusted maritime shipments) expanded at a faster rate than trade in tons," according to the report. "Total estimated ton-miles reached 62,037 billion in 2023, an increase of 4.2 percent over 2022. Average distances travelled per ton of cargo continued to expand in 2023, part of a trend that began about two decades earlier. Together, the war in Ukraine, the disruption in the Red Sea, and the reduced water levels in the Panama Canal have caused maritime shipping and trade to shift onto longer routes." In addition, trade tensions between the United States and China have contributed to supply chain disruptions, which could intensify if tariff hikes continue. The United Nations projects 2.4 percent growth in the global maritime trade industry from 2024 through 2029.

In the U.S. shipping industry, cargo is transported on America's domestic waterways and on international waters among U.S. holdings and territories. Deep-sea foreign shipping of general cargo, and dry and liquid bulk is part of the U.S. shipping industry as well.

The U.S. water transportation industry employed 74,300 people as of December 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Overall employment of water transportation workers is projected to increase by 3 percent from 2023 to 2033, according to the DOL. This is about as fast as the average for all occupations. Water transportation workers will always be needed, especially marine oilers and sailors, as well as ship engineers. New types of ships requiring smaller crews and increased use of foreign companies for international shipping may limit growth in some branches of the industry. Although shipping overseas faces special challenges such as bad weather and piracy, it remains one of the least expensive means of moving goods around the world. The shipping industry has sought to become more environmentally friendly in recent years, but it still creates a significant amount of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, underwater noise, and oil pollution (due to spills and leaks), and serves as a means for often harmful non-indigenous species around the world to move outside their native regions.