The global demand for air travel has made the aircraft parts and equipment industry surge with growth. According to MNI, nearly 171,000 individuals work to keep aircraft in the sky.
Making parts as simple as washers to those as complex as entire turbine engines, this sector is unique in the overall manufacturing industry.
We will now take a closer look at its resilience even in the midst of tumultuous market forces.
Precision Requirements Help Corner the Market
An airplane can contain millions of parts, each of which are tracked all the way from raw material sourcing to installation. Due to the unforgiving nature of aviation, all of these parts are subject to multiple levels of regulation.
Even a seat has to conform to federal and international standards for crash energy absorption, flame retardant qualities, passenger retention and safe wiring for entertainment systems.
Because aircrafts require these specialized components, in most cases they can only be made under license by approved subcontractors.
Major airframe manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus rely on these companies to supply the parts for new aircraft and replacement components for those already in service.
This barrier to entry somewhat restricts the playing field to companies that are able to establish and maintain compliance.
Resistance to Current Economic Stressors
Regardless of where an aircraft is being built or utilized, its parts must come from one of the approved providers.
This is a contributing factor in the sector's relatively high 57% international distribution rate, according to MNI, compiler and publisher of the industrial data that powers IndustryNet.
Interestingly, the trade war and tariff schedules have not affected the aircraft parts market as severely as other manufacturing sectors.
The previously mentioned limits on who can provide aircraft parts is a prime reason that the sector can weather international trade instabilities.
Major Growth in All Aspects
This immunity to economic disturbances shows up in current sales figures. MNI's data lists the aircraft parts and equipment industry generating $63.2 billion annually.
This represents nearly 11% in growth over the previous year. Such strong growth in revenue is balanced by growth in employment with a 4.8% increase during the same interval.
In fact, 8% of companies in the industry reported employment growth while 0% reported a reduction. The total number of employees is 170,944.
Location of Manufacturers
Traditionally, many U.S. aircraft manufacturers have been based in the West, in part because of excellent weather and plenty of open space for testing.
This is reflected in the high concentration of aircraft parts manufacturers in the same region. According to MNI, just under 39% of these companies are located here, nearly double the fraction represented by manufacturing overall.
The South is up next with 28%, followed by the Midwest at 19% and finally the Northeast with slightly over 14%.
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Article Sources:
https://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part25-785-FAR.shtml
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/FAAs-Inspector-General-Says-Agency-Not-Doing-Enough-to-Stop-Bogus-Parts-from-Getting-on-Commercial-Flights-475352673.html
https://www.avm-mag.com/pma-vs-oem-parts-notes-front/
https://magazin.lufthansa.com/xx/en/fleet/boeing-747-8-en/one-plane-six-million-parts/
