The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has just released worldwide data on aircraft shipments and aircraft sales for the first half of 2016. And the numbers reveal an overall decline. According to GAMA, industry airplane shipments totaled 970 units, a 4.5% decrease, while airplane sales dropped from $10.4 billion to $9.3 billion, or an 11% decrease. Rotorcraft shipments also dropped 16% with 392 units shipped compared to 467 units during the same period last year.  In addition, rotorcraft sales took a much larger hit, dropping from $2.1 billion to $1.4 billion, a 32.5% decrease.

“In a challenging global climate, every segment of the fixed-wing and rotorcraft market showed declines for the first half of 2016,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA President and CEO. “As we saw at AirVenture last week, general aviation manufacturers are working hard to regain momentum by delivering innovative new products and technologies that enhance safety and provide substantial improvement in capability.”

Bunce also said that Congress hasn’t done enough to support Aircraft manufacturers or maintenance, repair, and overhaul businesses. He reiterated his feelings on the passing of the recent FAA extension, saying that it was a missed opportunity to include reforms for the “outdated and overly prescriptive certification processes.”

Bunce noted that Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) also viewed the extension as “a sorely missed opportunity for Congress” and that Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said that overhauling the FAA’s certification process “would have created jobs.”

“As these members of Congress and others recognize, general aviation manufacturers and MRO companies, along with their employees, deserve better. We hope to see greater commitment by policymakers around the globe to give manufacturers the regulatory environment they need to succeed and allow our industry to continue to move forward,” Bunce concluded.

Further Aircraft Sales and Shipment Figures

GAMA’s figures show that piston airplane deliveries declined 4.5%, from 464 units to 443 units. Turboprop shipments slipped from 247 units to 235 units. or a 4.9% decline. In addition, business jet aircraft shipments slid 4.3%, with 292 units being shipped versus 305 during the same period last year. 116 piston rotorcraft shipped, a 10% drop, while 276 turbine rotorcraft shipped, an 18% drop.

For more information and a complete listing of the figures, you can visit the GAMA website.

^{Featured Image: Gunther Hagleitner}

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