Economist: La. shipyard may close

The Houma-Thibodaux, La., area could lose as many as 1,800 jobs in 2018; and the Edison Chouest shipyard may close down, according to Loren Scott, economist and professor emeritus at Louisiana State University. Thoma-Sea and Bollinger shipyards are adapting by building other ships ... but Edison Chouest may shutter its shipyard “if there isn’t a turnaround in the Gulf oilfield in the near future.” Edison Chouest Offshore should be able to keep open LaShip and Port Fourchon’s repair yard even if the North American Shipyard closes. Despite the gloomy prediction, Scott predicts some 700 new jobs in 2019. The south Louisiana region has been affected by a three-year oil bust that has stripped more than 16,700 jobs from the economy. A September federal report showed the area, comprised of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, had the fourth-worst economy in 2016 among the nation’s 382 metro areas. (Source: Daily Comet 10/12/17)