Avionics News March 2021 - 12

AEA
Avionics
Market Report

AEA unveils
2020 year-end
Avionics Market Report
Published
by the

Total sales exceed $2.2 billion for the year

The Aircraft Electronics Association recently released its 2020 year-end Avionics Market Report, and total worldwide
business and general aviation avionics sales for the year amounted to $2,223,729,327, or more than $2.2 billion as reported
by the participating companies.
The dollar amount represented a 26% decrease in total year-end sales compared to 2019, which set a record-high total
that topped $3 billion. It also marked the lowest amount of sales in the report's nine-year history. During the fourth-quarter
months of October, November and December, sales decreased 28.1% compared to the same time frame one year ago.
However, since COVID-19 began to negatively impact industry-wide sales near the end of the first quarter of 2020, the
industry experienced healthy sales growth during the last six months of the year. For example, after total sales bottomed
out in the second quarter of 2020, third-quarter sales increased 5.9% with retrofit sales up 10.8% compared to the second
quarter. That upward trend continued with fourth-quarter sales increasing another 8.5% with retrofit sales up 15.3%
compared to the third quarter.
2020 Year-end Worldwide Business & General Aviation Avionics Sales
Quarter
1Q 2020
2Q 2020
3Q 2020
4Q 2020
2020 Totals*

Retrofit
$345,650,537.69
$267,757,102.73
$296,692,116.00
$342,013,080.00

Forward-fit
$314,778,010.72
$222,952,080.59
$222,975,009.00
$221,679,584.00

Total Sales
$660,428,548.41
$490,709,183.32
$519,667,125.00
$563,692,664.00

$1,242,782,844.00

$980,946,483.00

$2,223,729,327.00

*-Note that the 2020 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 $2.2 billion in sales in 2020, 55.9% 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 44.1% of sales.
According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other
international markets, 73.8% of the 2020 sales volume occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 26.2% took
place in other international markets.

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Avionics News March 2021

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