The Value of the UK Shipping Industry

Headline Findings

The shipping industry makes a significant macroeconomic contribution to the UK. It is estimated that the shipping industry directly supported £37.4 billion in business turnover, £16.1 billion in GVA, 98,200 jobs and £4.5bn in employee compensation in 2023.

When including indirect and induced impacts, it is estimated that the shipping industry helped support a total of £46.2 billion of GVA, £92.0 billion in turnover, 728,200 jobs and £18.7 billion through the compensation of employees in 2023.

International Transport of Freight is the largest constituent activity within the shipping industry in terms of economic activity, directly contributing £10.5 billion in GVA (65% of total) and directly supporting around 49,000 jobs for UK employees (50%).

The Cebr report also includes analysis of the economic impact of the UK Tonnage Tax regime on the shipping industry under different counterfactual scenarios, and the findings show that  without the UK’s Tonnage Tax regime, the shipping industry would have directly contributed £10.1 billion less in GVA, 61,600 fewer jobs, £790 million less in tax contributions and £4.8 billion less in exports of Sea Transport services.

Report Methodology

The report provides a thorough and comprehensive examination of the role of the shipping industry in the UK and its constituent sub-regional economies. It presents a range of analyses demonstrating different aspects of the value contributed by the overall industry, including direct contributions to GDP and employment, indirect and induced multiplier impacts and the shipping industry’s contribution to the UK Exchequer through tax revenues raised.

The key macroeconomic indicators include:

• GVA contributions to UK and regional GDP generated by the shipping industry, both directly and through indirect and induced multiplier impacts.
• Jobs supported by the industry, including direct, indirect, and induced jobs through multiplier impacts.
• The value of the turnover of the shipping industry and, again, the turnover supported in the UK and regional economies through multiplier impacts.
• The value of employee compensation generated by the shipping industry, representing the total remuneration of employees operating in the industry.
• The contribution of the shipping industry through revenues raised for the Exchequer.
• The value of services exported by the activities comprising the shipping industry.

The report was developed through a regular advisory group comprising of the UK Chamber of Shipping, Cebr, and the Department for Transport (DfT), and the UK Chamber thanks the DfT personnel for their input and expertise.

Download 'The Value of the UK Shipping Industry, June 2025'