Third Quarter Continues Reduced Aircraft Delivery Pace
- Aircraft deliveries in 2019 now more than 200 behind pace set last year, with 873 delivered in nine months to September.
- ADS forecast for total deliveries this year revised down to 1164 aircraft as run of eight record years set to end.
- Widebodies achieve new records for Q3 and for the first three quarters combined, with 300 so far delivered.
The third quarter of 2019 continued the slower than expected rate of aircraft deliveries, as the global aerospace market waits for factors affecting long-term growth in deliveries to be resolved.
The rate of aircraft delivery in the first three quarters of this year is the slowest since 2012, as the eight consecutive years of record growth from 2011 to 2018 look set to come to an end. In the light of this, ADS has revised down its forecast for 2019 deliveries for a second time, now to 1164 aircraft.
While the rate is significantly slower than expected at the start of this year, deliveries made in 2019 are worth £22bn to UK industry so far, with 300 widebody aircraft deliveries making up 75 per cent of this total value. The backlog of aircraft orders remains high at 13,695 despite factors affecting the industry
ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said:
“While global deliveries this year are slower than originally expected, there remains strong international demand for modern, fuel efficient aircraft and we expect record production rates to return in the years ahead.
“Aerospace businesses in the UK have a fantastic opportunity to develop and manufacture the next generation technologies that are set to help the industry play its part in achieving ambitious emissions reduction targets.
“This can bring increasing prosperity to communities across the country and tackle the global challenge of climate change, if UK aerospace remains attractive to investment and the home of innovation.
“To make sure this opportunity is not lost, the Government must prioritise a future relationship with the European Union that preserves the frictionless trade and regulatory alignment this industry has relied on to achieve its annual value to the UK of £36bn.”