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Maritime Industry
The maritime industry in Germany is a sector of the economy with excellent prospects for the future and is of great importance to the economy as a whole. Because it is closely interwoven with the rest of the economy, it is of key importance for the Federal Republic of Germany. Moreover, a sizeable proportion of German external trade goes by sea.
In Germany, the maritime industry, including maritime service providers, employs over 380,000 people. The largest sector is maritime shipping (with a workforce of around 60,000 and a turnover of over 31 billion euros in 2006). The second and third largest sectors are the maritime component supply industry (with a workforce of around 72,000 and a turnover of around 10.5 billion euros) and shipbuilding (with a workforce of around 23,000 and a turnover of around 6.2 billion euros).
The importance of the maritime sector to the national economy is not confined to the coastal regions. The component supply industry is located in all federal states, but its main centres are in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Forecasts predict a rise in the level of traffic in the future, which means that it is necessary to shift even more freight to the seas and inland waterways. As a result, the maritime industry offers attractive prospects for training and employment. In addition, the waterborne mode - unlike the roads - is considered to be a very environment-friendly option.
By further intensifying the cooperation between the individual components of the maritime cluster and by linking them up to form a network, the aim is to make even greater use of synergies in the future in order to enhance the competitiveness of the German maritime industry.
