Nine Out Of Ten Respondents Said They Project Their Companies Will Grow

There is some positive news for the avionics industry reflected in the 2016 AEA Rate and Labor Survey. The association said that nine out of 10 respondents to the survey said they expected their businesses to grow in the coming 12 months.

That is in increase of 81 percent over last year.

AEA says that the results of the survey indicated that repair stations are currently at or near capacity, and they are looking to expand to meet the growing demand for installations of ADS-B equipment to meet the FAA's 2020 mandate.

Mike Adamson, AEA vice president of member programs and education who oversees the survey, said that nearly 70 percent of shops linked their planned growth directly to the ADS-B mandate. "We are experiencing the effects of supply and demand, as we predicted last year," Adamson said.

He also warned that owners and operators who continue to procrastinate may face issues down the road. "With any significant acceleration in equipage rates, installers will see constraints on available shop space," he said. With a shortage of space and technicians to install equipment, backlogs and wait times are going to continue to grow.

The survey also some 72 percent of avionics repair shops plan to increase salaries in 2017 by an average of 4.9 percent.

FMI:  www.brightcopy.net/allen/avne/53-12/#/26