Total 2023 Sales to Date Exceed $2.4-Billion

The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) has released its third-quarter 2023 Avionics Market Report. In the first nine-months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $2,415,800,131.52, or more than $2.4-billion as reported by the participating companies.

During the third-quarter months of July, August, and September, sales increased 9.9-percent compared to the same time frame one year ago. Although third-quarter sales decreased 1.1-percent sequentially from the second quarter of 2023, the more than $814-million in sales during the third-quarter marked the second-highest quarterly sales volume in the history of the report, surpassed only by the previous quarter.

The figure represented a 15.9-percent increase in total sales compared to the first nine months of 2022, which was driven by a 26.2-percent increase in forward-fit sales—which is to say, avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production—compared to the same time frame one year ago.

Also of note, quarterly forward-fit sales topped $400-million for only the fourth time in the history of the report.

The dollar amount reported (using net sales price, not manufacturer's suggested retail price) includes: all business and general aviation aircraft electronic sales – including all component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/portables/certified and noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from companies participating in the AEA Avionics Market Report. The amount does not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services.

Of the more than $2.4-billion in sales during the first nine months of 2023, 40.7-percent came from the retrofit market—avionics equipment installed after original production—while forward-fit sales amounted to 59.3-percent of year-to-date sales.

According to reporting companies that differentiated their total North American (U.S. and Canada) sales figures from the remainder of international markets, 73.3-percent of the sales volume in the first nine months of 2023 occurred in North America, while 26.7-percent took place elsewhere.

AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson stated: "The industry continues to produce robust forward-fit sales. However, the retrofit market has grown only 3.6% year-over-year in sales. Even with persistent challenges in the supply chain, avionics manufacturers have done an extraordinary job managing issues and report improvement in product lead times compared to last year.”

Mr. Adamson added: “While it's encouraging that more products are able to get to market, we still face capacity issues due to workforce needs. Our members report their backlogs continue to increase as their need for technicians grows."

All dollar amounts set forth in the AEA’s Avionics Market Report are U.S. dollars. The number of companies participating in subject report may change on a quarterly and/or annual basis. Participation may vary as a function of mergers and acquisitions and new companies partaking in the reporting process. Any comparative analysis of the presented data should take the described variance into consideration.

The AEA Avionics Market Report should not be considered a predictive indicator of future industry sales activity. The circumstances by which the report’s dollar values were occasioned may not occur in the future, and actual sales, revenues, and profits could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the avionics market, the AEA Avionics Market Report, and the companies that participate in such. Forward-looking statements—one and all—cannot be guaranteed, and pertain only to circumstances extant on the day subject statements are made. Neither the Aircraft Electronics Association, those companies that participate in the AEA Avionics Market Report, nor Aero News Network (ANN) undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

The AEA Avionics Market Report may be viewed in its entirety at www.aea.net/marketreport .

FMI: www.aea.net