10.4.2Segment

Coastal & Short Sea Shipping

Coastal cargo, ferry, and roll-on/roll-off vessel operators serving short sea and inland routes.

4
Verticals

Overview

Coastal & Short-Sea Shipping covers domestic maritime freight along U.S. coasts and the Great Lakes — the Jones Act trades serving Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and coastal/Great Lakes routes. At ~$10B it is led by Jones Act carriers (Matson, TOTE, Crowley, and Great Lakes operators) operating U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed vessels protected from foreign competition.

Demand is driven by domestic and island/territory trade (Hawaii and Puerto Rico depend heavily on Jones Act shipping), with the Jones Act creating a protected but high-cost market. It is a consolidated segment of a few large operators, with vessel costs (U.S.-built ships are far more expensive), fleet renewal, and the periodic political debate over the Jones Act the key dynamics.

Market snapshot

Market size
~$10B
Growth
~5.8%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~340 firms
Firms by employee count

67.6% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 230 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe110 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
5348%
100–499
3229%
500+
2523%

Protected coastwise trade, and the growth is steady because the market is effectively closed. Vessel replacement is the strategic issue: US-built tonnage costs several times the world price, so fleet age is the constraint on capacity rather than demand.

NAICS 483113. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Domestic coastal/island freight rates

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$29,465,862
Revenue per employee
$519,653
Employees per firm
56.9
Recurring revenue
Moderate–High

recurring domestic trade lanes

EBITDA margin
Protected but high-cost Jones Act economics
Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven — payroll is only 18% of revenue; the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Thin strategic-buyer pool — only 25 firms exceed 500 employees; exits skew sponsor-to-sponsor
  • Jones Act trades (Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Great Lakes).
  • Protected from foreign competition.
  • U.S.-built vessels far more expensive.

NAICS 483113. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontRhode IslandAlaskaLouisiana

Alaska's concentration is the highest measured anywhere on this site — fifty-five times the national rate. Coastal shipping is not a transport choice there but the supply line for communities with no road access. Louisiana follows on Gulf coastwise trade.

AlaskaLouisiana

U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 483113. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Jones-Act carriers (Matson, TOTE, Crowley)
  • Great Lakes operators
  • Maritime investors

What’s driving deals

  • Jones-Act fleet renewal.
  • Island/territory trade demand.
  • Jones-Act policy dynamics.

Verticals in this segment

Find Coastal & Short Sea Shipping acquisition targets

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