Chart Gallery

AIA's Aerospace Research Center provides the latest statistics to track trends in the industry. Below are graphs that illustrate these statistics in easily viewable formats, as well as explanations of the information presented.

[ View larger image ]	Aerospace Industry Sales Sales increased across all major product groups in 2005 with many individual categories reaching record, current-dollar highs. Total sales increased 9.2 percent to a record $170 billion driven by strong growth in the civil aircraft sector. AIA forecasts 2006 sales will increase another $14 billion with accelerating growth in civil aircraft sales and increasing sales in nearly every other major product group. For more information, see Series 02.
[ View larger image ]	Aerospace Sales by Customer Fairly steady total aerospace sales following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. masks a dramatic divergence between two major customer groups: the Defense Department and "other," mainly airlines and business aircraft. Since 2001, DoD sales increased markedly while civil aviation-related sales suffered immensely. However, air traffic has recovered and "other" customer sales are rebounding strongly. Aerospace sales to NASA and other non-defense federal agencies are expanding after years of stagnation. Sales to NASA will increase as the nation implements the Vision for Space Exploration. In contrast to the mid-90s when defense and civil were both in decline, the middle of this decade has both customer groups growing. These are the boom times. For more information, see Series 02.
[ View larger image ]	Aerospace Profits and Profit Margins The aerospace industry generated a record $12.6 billion in profits from a record $197 billion of aerospace corporation sales last year. As a percentage of sales, profits rose from 5.2 percent to 6.4 percent in 2005. This compares to the manufacturing sector's average of 7.4 percent. Aerospace profits and margins showed some moderation in 2006's first half. An article published by AIA in September 2005 documented aerospace returns equal to or below other high-tech manufacturing sectors. For more information, see Series 08 or see article on page 5 of the September 2005 AIA Update (PDF).
[ View larger image ]	Aerospace Orders, Shipments, and Backlog The aerospace industry booked record orders by value during 2005 — a testament to Boeing's widebody offerings. Overall industry orders totaled a record $219 billion, up $75 billion from 2004, with $69 billion logged in the last two months of the year. Industry shipments rose $28 billion to $170 billion, its second year of growth. Consequently, the unfilled order backlog reached a record $252 billion, up 30 percent from 12 months ago. First half results demonstrated continuing strength. For more information, see Series 26ABC.
[ View larger image ]	Trade Balance by Industry While the nation's trade deficit topped $767 billion in 2005, the aerospace industry posted a trade surplus of $40 billion. The aerospace industry routinely generates the largest trade surplus of all U.S. manufacturing. The chart shows the industry's trade balance depicted against the other commodity groups generating the highest and lowest trade balances.
[ View larger image ]	Aerospace Foreign Trade Foreign trade is vital to the aerospace industry. U.S. exports of $67 billion in 2005 represent a large portion of the industry's customer base. Despite rising imports and aggressive foreign competition, the U.S. aerospace industry maintains a trade surplus (currently $40 billion) — the largest of all manufacturing sectors. For comparison, the nation's trade deficit topped $767 billion in 2005. So far in 2006, aerospace exports and trade surplus are at record highs. For more information, see Series 31 and 32.
[ View larger image ]	Top Customer Countries The global aerospace industry is highly interconnected. Of the top eight foreign customer countries for U.S. aerospace exports, five — Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany — are major aerospace producers in their own right. While the majority of our imports come from these five countries, they purchase 38 percent of the United States' $67 billion in aerospace exports. Japan is the leading importer of U.S. aerospace products, followed by France, the UK, and China. Canada, on the other hand, is the leading exporter of aerospace products to the United States and enjoys a significant trade surplus. Our total trade balance approaches $40 billion and, between the United States and the five listed above, the United States runs a $4 billion surplus.
[ View larger image ]	U. S. Share of Global Aerospace Sales The U.S. market share of aerospace sales has steadily declined from its peak in 1985 of 72 percent. While the EU's share has risen from 22 percent to 41 percent over this same period, Canada's share has more than doubled from 3 percent to 7 percent and Japan's share has grown from 3 percent to 5 percent. Note: While this information from ASD, AECMA, and the EC represents the broadest measure of aerospace sales, it only includes the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan..
[ View larger image ]	Aerospace Employment Employment is growing after falling to a 50-year low in February 2004. Since that point and through 2005, 47,100 workers have been added to the industry's workforce. It is estimated that aerospace accounts for three-quarters of manufacturing sector's employment growth over this same period whereas only one in 23 manufacturing workers are employed in aerospace. These new jobs pay well too. In 2005, aerospace production workers earned $23.89 per hour on average as compared to $16.56 for all of the manufacturing industry. For more information, see Group 2: Employment.
[ View larger image ]	Age Distribution of Aerospace Workforce Workers age 45 and older represent a growing portion of the aerospace workforce. Most recently, this age group constituted 55 percent of the workers, up from 38 percent in 1992. There has been a corresponding and dramatic decline in the 25 to 34 year old bracket — falling from 27 percent of the workforce in 1992 to a low of 12 percent in 2003. Currently, 20 percent of aerospace workers are age 55 and older and represent a key "brain drain" as they select retirement while the industry ramps up its economic activity. Recent years have seen a modest reversal in the 25 to 34 year old age bracket and a leveling in the growth of 45-and-older workers, which is encouraging.
[ View larger image ]	R&D Scientists and Engineers In the mid-1980s, one out of five research and development scientists and engineers was employed in the aerospace industry. That portion had fallen to 3.5 percent in 2004, the latest year's data available from the National Science Foundation. Likewise, the numbers of R&D scientists and engineers has fallen from nearly 145,000 in 1986 to a low of 19,100 in 2002 before turning up more recently. Scientists and engineers hurdle the technological challenges and bring awe-inspiring new products and innovations out of the high-tech aerospace industry. It is encouraging to see a modest reversal beginning.

For more information about AIA's Statistics, please contact stats@aia-aerospace.org.