Aerospace Deliveries stay on Record Track
- Commercial aircraft deliveries in the first four months of 2018 match figures from 2017’s record production year.
- Continuing high demand for new aircraft saw orders keep the production backlog above 14,000 for the fifth month in a row.
- Widebody orders perform strongly in the year to date, with 127 orders in the period from January to April, the highest number for this period for ten years.
April saw 96 aircraft deliveries worth up to £2bn to UK industry, taking the total deliveries for 2018 so far to 406, with a total value to the UK of up to £7.5bn.
Industry forecasts put the aerospace sector on track to deliver more than 1700 aircraft this year, well ahead of 2017’s record total of 1498, which was worth £29bn to the UK companies who are vital to this global industry.
April saw 146 orders placed, pushing the 2018 total to 469, the largest number at this point in the year since 2014. Widebody aircraft have seen 127 orders in the year to date, an especially strong performance that promised a future economic boost to the UK of £6bn as the orders are fulfilled.
ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said:
“The global aerospace industry continues to grow to meet strong international demand for modern, efficient and technologically advanced aircraft. We expect 2018 will see a new record for deliveries, bringing billions of pounds in economic benefit to the UK.
“As production continues to be stepped up in the years to come, we must make sure we maximise our ability to compete for new investment in capacity to produce more of the wings, engines, avionics and other critical components we make so successfully today.
“April’s aircraft deliveries were worth up to £2bn to UK industry, but creating new burdens for business under a “maximum facilitation” customs arrangement could cost our four sectors up to a combined £2.3bn a year.
“It is vital for the UK and EU to reach an agreement on a customs deal that preserves friction-free cross-border trade and imposes no new burdens that could threaten future growth.”