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.

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