The direct and indirect employment impact of the Turku Shipyard continued to grow in 2021 by over 13 percent, according to a regional impact study of the shipyard conducted by the University of Turku.
The increase in the employment impact of the Meyer Turku shipyard in recent years is largely related to the increase of the overall employment potential of the shipyard. The direct and indirect employment impact increased by 13% for all of Finland, and by 42% for the Turku region. Most of the (both direct and indirect) employees of the shipyard and its suppliers are based in Turku, but many other Southwest Finland municipalities also reached the top ten, including Kaarina, Raisio, Lieto and Naantali.
In Southwest Finland, the Turku shipyard is the fourth largest employer of individual businesses and the second largest employer of industry. More jobs will also be brought to Finland thanks to the increased employment effects of foreign companies and second-tier suppliers. Their considerable impact on retail trading and services in the region were not included in the employment analysis.
“The shipyard’s supplier network has expanded by about 100 companies in the last three years, and the total value of deliveries has increased by about 4%. This has resulted in an increase in Finnish employment, although the share of foreign suppliers has also increased,” says Tapio Karvonen, Senior Researcher at the University of Turku’s Brahea Centre.
42% of the shipyard’s domestic suppliers are based in Southwest Finland and 38% in Uusimaa. However, there are many suppliers all throughout Finland, from a total of 112 municipalities.
“Shipbuilding, and the entire maritime cluster, are of permanent strategic importance to the city of Turku and to the economy and employment in the region. Turku wants to play its part in further strengthening these effects, for example by working with universities and educational institutions to respond to changes in companies’ talent requirements and by supporting significant increases in research and development funding focused on the city,” says Minna Arve, Mayor of Turku.
Increasingly diverse points of origin
The shipyard is not only a major player in the Turku economic region and in Southwest Finland, as the share of deliveries from other regions and from abroad has also increased.
The largest share of the value of Finnish deliveries, 39%, still comes from Southwest Finland, but the points of origin have diversified, and the share of other regions has also increased. Deliveries originate from all across Finland, with regions such as Kanta-Häme (10%) and Ostrobothnia (4%) doubling their share of delivery value in just three years.
The value of foreign deliveries has increased by a third over the course of three years, and the shipyard is receiving deliveries from an increasing number of countries. Countries such as the UK (10%), Poland (8%) and Italy (7%) have seen their share of the value of deliveries increase sharply.
In 2021, 71% of the shipyard’s suppliers were Finnish companies and 60% of the value of deliveries came from domestic suppliers.
The most important supplier country after Finland was Germany, which accounted for 44% of the value of foreign deliveries.
“The geographical variation in the value of deliveries is explained by our production situation, i.e., the ship that is under construction at any given time. The shipyard’s order book is stable, and we are following our strategy to design and build the largest, most modern and environmentally friendly cruise ships in the world”, says Tapani Pulli, Vice President of Meyer Turku.
The Meyer Turku shipyard is the largest company in Southwest Finland in terms of turnover. The value of deliveries in 2021 was just over 972 million euros, which is about four percent more than in 2018. The combined turnover of the shipyard and its direct supplier companies (in activities related to the shipyard’s production) was approximately 2.1 billion euros. Growth over the past three years has been nine percent.
Information on the study
In autumn 2022, the City of Turku and Meyer Turku Ltd commissioned a study from the Brahea Centre at the University of Turku to assess the regional economic impact of the Turku shipyard and its supplier network. The results of the study are also compared with the figures for 2018 and 2016. Unless otherwise mentioned, the graph data is from 2021.
The study was primarily based on financial statements and other statistical data, but data was also collected through a survey of the shipyard’s suppliers. The information obtained from Meyer Turku Ltd was essential for the success of the study. The financial indicators are mainly for the year 2021, for which a comprehensive set of financial statements is available, but for some of the impacts examined, data for 2020 has also been used.