MARINE JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE CASH IS STILL IN TRANSIT.
Marine subcontractors run out of cash for reasons specific to how the work is built and billed, on jobs that are making money. The three that cost the most in this trade are below, taken from marine contractor research. Most sit at 75 to 90 days from finishing work to holding the money, and 45 days is achievable.
Cash and profit are measured on different clocks. Your profit and loss records revenue when you invoice and costs when you incur them, while the bank account only knows what cleared. Labour goes out weekly and collects 45 to 90 days later, minus retention. That distance is what a growing, profitable marine company funds out of pocket, and it widens as you grow. The specific things that widen it in this trade are what the rest of this page is about.
WHERE IT LEAKS OUT.
Most dredge and in-water work needs USACE Section 404 and state Section 401 permits, plus NOAA and habitat consultations, with environmental windows (fish spawning, bird nesting, turbidity limits) that dictate when the spread can even work. Permit timing is schedule timing, and schedule timing is cash timing.
The trade's top GSC query is "marine construction sub-tier contractor" (18 impressions). Marine subs on federal and port work sit under primes on Corps contracts, with Miller Act payment-bond rights instead of liens, flow-down clauses, and certified payroll. The sub-tier position adds a payment layer and a paperwork regime most dirt contractors never see.
Getting a spread to the site (tug transit, permits for the tow, crane rigging, spud setup) is a six-figure event on real jobs, and demob is its own line. Marine mobilization deserves separate SOV billing more than any trade on the site.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Spread That Never Sleeps
Barges, cranes, and tugs bill by the day whether the weather cooperates or not, which is why marine overhead runs 16 percent at the small end. Spread-day rates and weather-standby cost codes are the trade's version of equipment utilization, at ten times the stakes.
The Window
USACE permits, environmental windows, and tide tables decide when the work happens; the contractor decides only whether the cash plan matches. Peak-window competition alone can shift bids 10 to 25 percent.
The Sub-Tier Maze
Under a prime on federal or port work, lien rights become Miller Act bond rights, deadlines change, and flow-downs govern. A $25M marine GC runs on systems because at marine scale, paperwork discipline is cash discipline. (cfos-cash-control-system) ---
DAYS SALES OUTSTANDING.
Ninety days is weak, 45 is the target, 30 is strong. Nothing else moves cash faster.
| Position | Days | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Weak | 90 days | Roughly three months of work funded out of your own pocket. |
| Target | 45 days | Achievable on the days you control: submission timing, complete documentation, follow up in week two. |
| Strong | 30 days | Requires discipline every month, and it's the cheapest capital available to you. |
Moving from 90 days to 45 frees roughly annual revenue divided by 365, times 45 days. At $4M that's about $493,000. At $8M it's about $986,000. That money doesn't come from a bank and it costs no interest, which is why we work the cycle before discussing financing anything.
MARINE BENCHMARKS.
Marine subcontractors at $1M to $5M net 7 percent, against a CFOS target of 10 percent, set at 10 percent before taxes or 3.5 points better than your trade's average at your revenue, whichever is higher. Working capital should sit at 13 percent of annual revenue, and the monthly close should finish by day 10 so the numbers can still change a decision.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
