Total Sales Exceed $1.7 Billion In First Nine Months Of 2015

The Aircraft Electronics Association has released its third-quarter 2015 Avionics Market Report showing that in the three-month period of July, August and September 2015, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $581,810,699.00, or more than $581 million.

The figure represented a 5.3 percent decrease in sales compared to the third-quarter 2014 amount of $614,406,537.56, or more than $614 million as reported a year ago by the participating companies.

In the first nine months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $1,774,430,593.32, or more than $1.7 billion as reported by the participating companies. This marked a 7.5 percent decrease in year-over-year sales compared to the first nine months of 2014, which was more than $1.9 billion.

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 the participating manufacturers. The amount does not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services.
 
Of the more than $1.7 billion in sales during the first nine months of 2015, 51.4 percent came from forward-fit (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) sales, or more than $911 million. The retrofit (avionics equipment installed after original production) market amounted to 48.6 percent of sales during the first nine months of the current year, or more than $862 million.
 
According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 64.3 percent of sales in the first nine months occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 35.7 percent took place in other international markets.

"Unfortunately, the report shows some softness in sales this quarter and in the current year," said AEA President Paula Derks. "With a year-over-year sales decline of 7.5 percent, clearly, our industry continues to face some economic challenges that may be primarily related to the strength of the U.S. dollar. In addition, while the FAA reports that the ADS-B equipage pace has grown in the past year, it has not resulted in a similar increase in total avionics sales. The AEA will continue to monitor these and other economic forces moving forward."

(Source: AEA news release)

FMI: www.aea.net/marketreport