Quote:Actually the government does do that.  However, how many companies are qualified to build Navy ships?  How many companies are qualified to make the parts?  The bid isn't going to come in much lower.

I've never heard them do that...They can certainly open the bidding to more shipyards than the big two...There are two shipyards right there in Jax than can build them if they would open up the bidding to more...I understand what you mean, but if they open for more competition, you will find the price will drop drastically...They could even open bidding to international companies as well...That wouldn't go over well, but there is no reason they couldn't do it if they couldn't get the price of a new ship down to where they want...

 

There are shipyards in Jax that work on and repair Navy ships, so they could build them as well...One of them, has a facility right there in Mayport, and one in Mobile Bay Alabama, there are shipyards in Ca.,Mississippi, and La. that can build Navy ships, they only invite a select few shipyards to bid on new construction...

 

The bid can always come in lower...If the Government keeps rejecting the bids because they are too high, the shipyards will come down on their bids...The select 3 or 4 that build them now depend on the Navy contracts to survive, if they start refusing to pay so much, they shipyards will either build them cheaper or die unless they can get more repair or new contracts from somewhere else

 

The big shipyards are just like big retail companies, in the way they must retain an extremely high profit ratio do to hi CEO and executive pay and outlandish bonuses...The workers make pretty good money as well...North Florida shipyard on Tallyrand and the old Atlantic Marine ( IDK what it is now) payed well when I worked there in the 90's 

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