The Aircraft Electronics Association’s first-quarter 2015 Avionics Market Report shows that business and general aviation avionics sales topped $587 million in the first three quarters of the year.
That’s a 9.9% drop in sales compared to the first-quarter of 2014, when sales were more than $651 million. This year’s first-quarter sales are more in line with the first-quarter sales of 2013, which totaled more than $586 million, AEA officials noted.
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 $587 million in first-quarter 2015 sales, 52.8% came from forward-fit (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) sales. The retrofit (avionics equipment installed after original production) market amounted to 47.2% of first-quarter sales.
According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 65.5% of the first-quarter sales volume occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 34.5% took place in other international markets.
“The first-quarter decline in sales is somewhat disappointing after the modest 4% year-over-year growth noted in the year-end 2014 report,” said AEA President Paula Derks. “The rest of 2015 will be interesting to watch as the general aviation electronics industry is coming off its largest convention and trade show ever, and expects increased activity around the installation of mandated ADS-B Out equipment. We’ll also be paying close attention to the strength of the U.S. dollar and its impact on international sales in the coming quarters.”