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AEROSPACE SALES SOARING FUELED BY STRONG DEFENSE SPENDING
Arlington, Va. - Aerospace sales, orders, exports, and employment all increased significantly in 2004 as defense-related industry categories showed robust growth, the Aerospace Industries Association reported in its state-of-the-industry analysis released Wednesday. Indicators from AIA's Aerospace Research Center showed the good news should continue into next year, with growth likely to rival that of 2004, AIA President and CEO John W. Douglass said in his year-end address. "These numbers show a healthy industry that continues to show strength and fortitude despite significant challenges in the last several years,'' Douglass said. "The industry downturn after the terrorist attacks of 2001 was relatively modest and thankfully short-lived.'' AIA officials presented the analysis to about 300 members of the media, industry and government at the 40th Annual Year-End Review and Forecast Luncheon. The event serves as an opportunity to assess the last year in aerospace as well as gauge how the industry will fare in the next 12 months. The statistics, complied by AIA's Research Director David Napier, show increases in several key indicators after years of decreases. Overall sales in the aerospace industry rose 8 percent in 2004, jumping by $12 billion to a total of $161 billion, the highest level of current-dollar sales in the industry's history. In contrast, sales decreased by $4.5 billion in 2003. The healthiest gains came in portions of the industry involved in defense contracts. Military aircraft sales increased 15 percent and missile sales jumped 10 percent. Revenues in the civil aircraft sector, including engines and parts, increased modestly to $35 billion. Civil transport revenues were projected to decline 1.1 percent, or about $200 million. That is in contrast to 2003, when the same category saw a decrease of 26 percent, or $7.1 billion. For the first time in two years the number of U.S. commercial jetliners delivered increased, going up four planes to a total of 285. Aerospace employment increased in 2004, ending a five-year slide. Since hitting a 50-year low in February, industry added 18,900 new jobs, reaching 587,600. The industry also continued its history of carrying a foreign trade surplus, which increased $4.6 billion to reach $32 billion. In 2003, the latest year of comparative data, the U.S. aerospace industry posted the highest trade balance of all industry categories. Douglass said the industry can expect similar trade-balance numbers when the statistics for 2004 arrive. AIA's forecast for 2005 calls for a 7.5 percent overall growth in sales as DoD aerospace spending increases for the seventh year, and commercial transport sales begin their recovery in earnest. --AIA--
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Contact: Matt Grimison, AIA
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