Alabama played a key role in Confederate naval operations because of the state's strategic and economic importance and its role in the defense of the Gulf Coast.
The production of iron for ships was very quickly understood to be one of the keys to naval victory in the Civil War, and Alabama was among the most important producers of iron in the South. Indeed, Alabama contributed more iron ore than any other Confederate state and by the end of the war was also producing more coal (which is essential in producing iron from ore) than any other state. Iron was used in naval ships in a variety of ways, including in the creation of fasteners such as nails, bolts, and nuts; in weapons such as heavy iron cannons, cannonballs, and shells; for rams used to sink enemy ships; and for engines, chains, and anchors.
The state was home to four of the 39 iron furnaces in the Confederacy in 1860, and an additional 13 furnaces were built before the end of the war in 1865. Among the best-known manufacturers were the Bibb Iron Company, which was owned by the Confederate government, and the privately owned Shelby Ironworks, Cane Creek Iron works, and Brierfield Furnace. All but one of Alabama's strategically significant iron furnaces were destroyed during the war; Hale & Murdock Ironworks in Lamar County escaped detection.
There were almost twice as many iron furnaces in Ohio alone - 69 - in 1860 as there were in the entire South. Heck of an industrial base you have there, and once which certainly accounted for that a massive demand for English machinery that provided 85% of the total revenue. </sarcasm>