Does Bath Iron Works account for about 17% of Maine’s GDP? | Fact brief
No.
Bath Iron Works does not account for about 17% of Maine’s total gross domestic product.
The claim likely confuses two measures. A December 2022 BIW press release said a commissioned study found the shipyard represented 17% of Maine’s “production GDP” in 2021. The release did not describe BIW as 17% of the entire state economy.
A November 2024 report estimates BIW’s 2023 statewide impact at $2.55 billion in economic output. That includes direct shipyard activity, supplier spending and employee spending.
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Output is not GDP because it includes intermediate purchases, such as parts and services bought from other firms, which GDP excludes to avoid double-counting.
The 2024 report puts BIW’s total value added, the measure comparable to GDP, at $1.28 billion. BIW says that represented 1.6% of the Maine GDP.
It said BIW had 6,722 workers in 2023, about 12.4% of Maine’s total manufacturing workforce.
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The Maine Trust for Local News partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- General Dynamics Bath Iron Works: Third Party Analysis Shows the Breadth of BIW’s Impact on Maine
- General Dynamics Bath Iron Works: An Economic Anchor and Workforce Ecosystem: The Economic Importance of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works to Maine
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