The package includes $18 million in loans and investments and $6 million in philanthropic grants. JPMorganChase said the near-term focus will include expanding submarine manufacturing capacity, supporting workforce training and apprenticeships, assisting maritime suppliers and building stronger coordination among employers, training providers and community partners.
“America can compete and lead in shipbuilding again—it starts with more skilled workers and secure supply chains,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase. “When we build the workforce and the supply chain together, we create good careers for workers and a stronger, more resilient maritime industry that supports our national security and our economy.”
The announcement brings together the firm’s American Dream Initiative and its Security and Resiliency Initiative. The first is a multi-year effort to expand opportunity in U.S. communities, while the second is a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to finance, facilitate and invest in industries tied to U.S. economic and national security, including shipbuilding.
JPMorganChase said the need is urgent because U.S. shipbuilding capacity has declined sharply over several decades. Research cited by the firm said less than 1% of new commercial ships are built in the United States and less than 1% of the global merchant fleet is U.S.-flagged.
The firm said the United States now maintains fewer than 190 flagged merchant vessels, many built abroad, down by nearly 3,000 since the 1960s. It also cited workforce shortages, aging infrastructure, constrained supplier capacity, high input costs and inconsistent demand as structural challenges facing the sector.
A report by the JPMorganChase PolicyCenter and Center for Geopolitics estimated demand for 250,000 new skilled shipbuilding workers over the next decade. JPMorganChase said meeting that need will require better alignment across training, supplier readiness, modernized facilities and access to capital.
Philadelphia is being positioned as a regional hub for that effort because of the Navy Yard, port infrastructure and an industrial base that includes maritime, advanced manufacturing and life sciences activity. The Philadelphia Navy Yard is home to 16,000 jobs, and the firm said the new funding is intended to turn local industrial potential into clearer pathways to higher-wage jobs.
“Philadelphia is a place where targeted, coordinated investment can translate into real economic mobility,” said Tim Berry, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region for JPMorganChase. “By strengthening workforce pathways, supplier readiness and access to capital, we can help more people connect to quality jobs and help local businesses participate in long-term growth.”
The largest single investment is a $13 million New Markets Tax Credit equity investment for Rhoads Industries, part of a $40 million NMTC transaction. The funding will support construction of a new 95,000-square-foot high-bay submarine manufacturing and assembly facility expected to create 450 permanent jobs and expand training opportunities for workers in roles such as welding and electrical work.
JPMorganChase is also providing a $5 million long-term, low-cost loan to PIDC Community Capital. The loan is intended to support lending products for small businesses, including commercial real estate acquisition and construction, leasehold improvements and working capital, and is expected to support up to 15 loans and create or retain more than 200 jobs.
PIDC Community Capital and the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center will receive a $1.5 million grant to help grow the maritime supplier base for the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The funding will support as many as 100 commercial maritime suppliers with technical assistance, including up to 30 companies receiving structured assessments, diagnostics and operational walkthroughs.
A $2.4 million grant will go to the Greater Philadelphia Growth Partnership to strengthen regional coordination among employers, training providers and community partners. The Skills Initiative at University City District will receive $2 million to scale workforce models focused on non-degree pathways into higher-wage shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing roles for nearly 300 local individuals.
“America cannot restore its industrial strength or ensure peace through strength without investing in the workforce that powers it,” said U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania Dave McCormick. “By supporting workforce development and strengthening local communities, this commitment will help prepare the next generation of skilled workers who will build the ships that protect our country and reinforce Pennsylvania’s role as a cornerstone of America’s defense industrial base.”
“When organizations like JPMorganChase invest in Philadelphia, they’re investing in our people,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “That’s exactly the future we’re creating in the Lower South and at the Navy Yard: more pathways to family-sustaining careers and more opportunities for Philadelphians to help build America’s future.”
“The Navy Yard has long been one of the most important economic engines in our city, and today’s investment by JPMorganChase is about building the next generation of opportunity,” said Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson. “When the public and private sectors work together with our educational and community partners, we can grow our economy in a way that benefits neighborhoods across our city.”
“Philadelphia has always been a city that builds. Strengthening the shipbuilding ecosystem is an opportunity to create quality jobs, support local businesses and invest in the workforce that will power the next generation of advanced manufacturing and industrial growth,” said Jodie Harris, President of PIDC, Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation.
“The Greater Philadelphia Growth Partnership was built on a simple truth: our region’s challenge has never been a lack of talent or assets. It has been a lack of shared focus and coordinated action at scale,” said Chellie Cameron, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.
JPMorganChase said the funding is designed to connect local workers and businesses with long-term demand in maritime manufacturing. The firm said it will support a stronger shipbuilding ecosystem in Philadelphia while contributing to wider national security and economic resilience goals.
