Posted on March 25, 2026
The Dredging Contractors of America (DCA) reports that FY 2025 was another strong year for the U.S. dredging industry, with $1.8 billion in federal dredging awards executed by the American-owned, American-crewed and American-built Jones Act dredging fleet.
According to the U.S. Dredging Report, authored by Michael Gerhardt, VP of external affairs at Muddy Waters Dredging, FY2025 marked a transition year. While the prior year featured major deepening and widening projects in ports such as Norfolk, Brazos Island, Sabine, and Mobile, FY2025 saw fewer large-scale channel expansions. Instead, the industry’s core maintenance dredging market remained steady and reliable, ensuring the continued safe and efficient movement of commerce across U.S. waterways.
At the same time, beneficial use of dredged material continued its upward trajectory, reinforcing dredging’s dual role in navigation and environmental stewardship. A record 74% of projects incorporated beneficial use, supporting coastal restoration, wetland creation, and island rebuilding efforts. Regions such as New Orleans led in large-scale habitat creation, while Baltimore continued its long-standing work restoring islands in the Chesapeake Bay—demonstrating how American dredging directly contributes to climate resilience and ecosystem restoration.
Speaking before the start of the recent Port of the Future Conference in Houston, Texas, William Doyle, CEO of the Dredging Contractors of America commented:
“Fiscal Year 2025 highlights the strength and competitiveness of the U.S. dredging industry. With 56 companies awarded work, the Jones Act framework is fostering real competition that delivers value to taxpayers while maintaining a robust domestic industrial base. That same fleet is essential to our national and economic security, keeping America’s military installations and port gateways open, reliable, and resilient.”
Industry performance and value
The FY2025 federal dredging program totaled $1.80 billion, with hopper and dustpan dredges accounting for $608.5 million (34%) of all awards. While this segment declined from FY2024’s peak driven by major deepening work, it remained consistent with long-term averages thus highlighting the stability of the U.S. dredging fleet.
Competition remained robust across the Jones Act marketplace, with an average of three bidders on all unrestricted projects. This competitive environment delivered significant value to taxpayers:
- $773 million in total savings to the federal government
- Average savings of 26% per project compared to government estimates
- 63% of projects awarded below the government estimate
- 91% awarded below the government’s estimated awardable range (GEAR)
Notably, in many cases, industry bids came in dramatically lower:
- 68 projects more than 10% below government estimate
- 32 projects more than 25% below
- 13 projects more than 40% below
- 7 projects more than 50% below
These results, says DCA, underscore a key point: the Jones Act dredging industry delivers not only national security and domestic capability, but also cost efficiency and strong competition.
Small business participation
Small businesses continued to play a meaningful role in the industry with $294.6 million (25%) was awarded to small businesses across 135 projects. In total, 47 companies—19 large and 28 small businesses—participated in federal dredging work, demonstrating a healthy and diverse industrial base.
American capability with industrial impact
Every project in FY2025 was performed by U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-crewed dredges under the Jones Act, reinforcing a uniquely American capability that underpins:
- The reliability of U.S. ports and waterways
- The strength of the domestic maritime industrial base
- Rapid response capacity for coastal storms and emergencies
- Long-term environmental restoration and resilience
Source: Michael Gerhardt, DCA
