The Aircraft Electronics Association released its 2021 year-end Avionics Market Report, and total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales for the year amounted to $2,367,592,204, or more than $2.3 billion as reported by the participating companies. The dollar amount represented a 6.5% increase in total year-end sales compared to 2020.
During the fourth-quarter months of October, November and December, sales increased 7.4% compared to the same time frame one year ago. Fourth-quarter sales increased 0.6% sequentially from the third quarter of 2021 and marked the sixth consecutive quarter of increasing sales.
*-Note that the 2021 year-end totals do not exactly equal the sum of the four quarterly amounts as reported earlier in the year. This variance is the result of seasonally adjusted year-end numbers by some of the participants. In addition, the number of companies that participate in the AEA Avionics Market Report may change on a quarterly and/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. All dollar amounts noted are U.S. dollars.
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 $2.3 billion in sales in 2021, 54.6% 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 45.4% of sales.
According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 75.2% of the 2021 sales volume occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 24.8% took place in other international markets.
The AEA Avionics Market Report should not be considered a predictive indicator of future industry sales activity. The circumstances discussed in the report may not occur in future time periods, and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the AEA Avionics Market Report and the companies that participate in the report. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Aircraft Electronics Association, along with the participating companies in the AEA Avionics Market Report, undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
"Industry sales have been steadily climbing for six straight quarters after bottoming out in the second quarter of 2020," said AEA President and CEO Mike Adamson. "As the industry continues to recover from the initial jolt of the pandemic, avionics manufacturers are now dealing with supply chain issues that may impact sales through 2022. As a result, many OEMs are engaged in ongoing and proactive communications with their dealers and navigating through increasing lead times for some products."
Below is a review of the year-end totals for the 10-year history of the AEA Avionics Market Report. Participating companies began separating total sales into retrofit/forward-fit sales in 2013.
