SBA size standard
1,300 employees
Measured by average number of employees over the last 24 months
SBA table effective March 2023
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating shipyards. Shipyards are fixed facilities with drydocks and fabrication equipment capable of building a ship, defined as watercraft typically suitable or intended for other than personal or recreational use. Activities of shipyards include the construction of ships, their repair, conversion and alteration, the production of prefabricated ship and barge sections, and specialized services, such as ship scaling.
FY2025 federal spending
The Department of Defense bought 97% of the $37.2B obligated under 336611 in FY2025.
- Contract awards
- 7,775
- Contract vehicles (IDVs)
- 1,958
Top buying agencies
- Department of Defense$36.2B
- Department of Homeland Security$756.1M
- Department of Commerce$152.2M
- Department of Transportation$124.2M
- Department of State$8.9M
FY2025 federal contract obligations, USAspending.gov
NAICS 336611 obligated $37.2 billion in FY2025. DoD drives $36.2 billion of it, but the civilian tail matters more here than in aviation: DHS at $756 million for Coast Guard cutter programs, Commerce at $152 million for NOAA research vessels, and DOT at $124 million through MARAD. Those three are the only realistic prime lanes for a yard that is not already in the Navy shipbuilding industrial base.
What belongs here
Operating a shipyard: new construction, conversion, alteration, and repair of ships, plus prefabricated ship sections. The Census definition is anchored on the facility, so the question is whether you run drydocks and fabrication capability, not what you happened to build.
- Small craft not built in shipyards, including rigid inflatables, are 336612.
- Naval architecture and marine engineering design without fabrication is 541330.
- Shipboard machinery repair that does not involve the hull is often 811310.
Competing in this code
1,958 IDVs alongside 7,775 contract awards is the second-highest ratio of vehicles to awards among the defense manufacturing codes we track, after ammunition (332993). That is the structure of ship repair: multiple-award master agreements at each homeport, competed as task orders on availability schedules. Getting a yard onto the regional MAC is the whole game, and those competitions reopen on a known cycle. Small yards win availabilities on auxiliaries and service craft long before they win a combatant.
NAICS 336611 FAQ
What is the SBA size standard for NAICS 336611?
SBA sets it at 1,300 employees, counted as a 24-month average headcount across your company and every affiliate, not revenue. At or under that number you are small on NAICS 336611 solicitations and eligible for the set-asides in this code.
Which agencies buy shipbuilding and ship repair under NAICS 336611?
FY2025 obligations: DoD ($36.2 billion), DHS ($756 million), Commerce ($152 million), DOT ($124 million), State ($9 million). DoD is the overwhelming buyer, but Coast Guard recapitalization at DHS and NOAA vessel work at Commerce are the two places a non-Navy yard can prime.
Does ship repair fall under NAICS 336611 or a services code?
Repair, conversion, and alteration performed by a shipyard are all inside 336611 by definition. The code is scoped to the establishment, so a yard doing an availability is still 336611 even though the work is maintenance. Repair performed away from a yard, such as pierside component work by a machinery shop, usually codes elsewhere.
How do small yards get into NAICS 336611 work?
Through the multiple-award repair vehicles at each homeport. The code carries 1,958 IDVs, and most non-new-construction dollars flow as task orders against them, so the qualifying competition is the vehicle, not the individual availability. Auxiliary, support, and service craft are where new yards build the past performance record.