Avionics sales plunge 27% so far in 2020

Avionics sales fell 27% in the first nine months of the year, according to the third-quarter 2020 Avionics Market Report from the Aircraft Electronics Association.

In the first nine months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to more than $1.6 billion, compared to $2.3 billion during the same period last year.

During the third-quarter months of July, August and September, sales fell 33.4% to $519 million, $708 million a year ago.

However, sales in the third quarter of 2020 were up 5.9% compared to the second quarter of this year, with retrofit sales up 10.8% over the second quarter, AEA officials noted.

Of course in 2019 avionics shops were kept busy updating airplanes with ADS-B to meet the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate. The pandemic then hit, contributing to the huge decline in sales.

“The significant contraction of industry sales during the last six months has been driven by the international health crisis,” said AEA President and CEO Mike Adamson. “However, we are encouraged with the direction of activity in the retrofit market, which is up nearly 11% over second-quarter total sales. In addition, the overwhelming majority of AEA member shops and manufacturers are continuing their essential operations, and many are reporting customer backlogs that extend several weeks and into next year.”

Of the more than $1.6 billion in sales during the first nine months of 2020, 54.5% came from the retrofit market (avionics equipment installed after original production), while forward-fit sales (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) amounted to 45.5% of sales.

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 73.7% of the year-to-date sales volume occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 26.3% took place in other international markets.

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.

All dollar amounts noted are U.S. dollars. The number of companies that participate in the AEA Avionics Market Report may change on a quarterly or annual basis. This may occur due to mergers and acquisitions during the year, along with new companies participating in the reporting process. Any comparative analysis of the data should take this variance into consideration, AEA officials advise.

The companies currently participating in the report include:

• ACR Artex
• ALTO Aviation
• Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp.
• Appareo
• Aspen Avionics
• BendixKing
• Blue Avionics
• Collins Aerospace
• FreeFlight Systems
• Garmin
• Genesys Aerosystems
• Gogo Business Aviation
• Honeywell Business & General Aviation
• Jupiter Avionics
• L3Harris Technologies
• Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics
• PS Engineering
• Sandia Aerospace
• Shadin Avionics
• Trig Avionics
• Universal Avionics, an Elbit Systems Co.