Oil Boom: U.S. Ship Builders Thriving With Tankers

This is one part of the economy where you see the velocity of money is greater than the 1.5 or whatever the Fed is reporting.
From CNBC via Yahoo Finance:

Made-in-USA shipbuilding finds an unlikely ally

The 820-foot Liberty Bay sits dry-docked in Philadelphia 's Aker Shipyard. A massive supertanker destined for the West Coast, the ship is set to launch next week when it will undergo its final outfitting before being delivered to SeaRiver Maritime in April. It's taken more than 1,000 workers a year to build the Liberty Bay, and construction has already begun on her sister ship in the same yard.

And while it might not be surprising that the City of Brotherly Love is home to a thriving shipbuilding economy, the reason for the boom might be: domestic oil production.

Thanks to the century-old Jones Act, which requires all goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S.-flagged and U.S.-built vessels, shipbuilders across the country are working overtime to keep up with demand for tankers that can transport the bounty of newly drilled shale oil and gas now being produced in the United States.

When it launches, the Liberty Bay will be able to deliver 33 million gallons of oil from Alaska's North Slope to refineries on the West Coast in a single trip. SeaRiver Maritime, Exxon Mobil's (XOM) marine affiliate, has commissioned the two ships. At a cost of $200 million each, the tankers represent a significant investment that will help boost Philadelphia's economy.

According to the Department of Transportation, 15 tankers are on order or under construction at shipyards across the country, with options for many more. It's the biggest boom the industry has seen in 20 years. 

When Aker (Oslo Stock Exchange: AKER-NO) finishes with the two ships for Exxon, it will begin construction on four more for another client, with the option to deliver another four after that. In all, the company has won orders for $1.1 billion, and has tripled in size since 2011....MORE  

We've looked at some of the other beneficiaries of the boom, railroads, railcars, barge builders and operators:
More Berkshire Hathaway and Energy: "Buffett Like Icahn Reaping Tank Car Boom From Shale Oil" (BRK.b)
Goldman Sachs: "Bakken shale production will surprise Wall Street" and Carl Icahn does a drive-by (CLR; OAS; ARII; TRIN)
Barron's Feature: "Betting on the Buffett of Barges" (CKH) Special Bonus: A Case Study in Financial Brilliance
Oil: "Barges Are the New Trains -Valero" (KEX; TRN)  

Kirby is the largest U.S. barge operator.
Trinity manufactures rail cars and barges.
Both stocks have outperformed the larger market over the last year: