Shipbuilders say worker attendance, PPEs, supply chain are top issues during COVID-19

By Justin Katz  / April 23, 2020

A trade association representing shipbuilders says its industry surveys have shown absenteeism, a lack of personal protective equipment and supply chain dynamics are the biggest problems facing shipbuilders during the global pandemic.

Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, told Inside Defense in an interview this week his organization has been surveying its members for the past month about challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.

SCA's members include some of the Navy's largest contractors as well as commercial shipyards.

Paula Zorensky, vice president at SCA whose been heading up the surveys, said during the same interview SCA has been aggregating data and reporting it back to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told reporters last week shipbuilding ranked as one of the Defense Department's concerns for the industrial base.