The Aircraft Electronics Association has released its first-quarter 2021 Avionics Market Report. In the first three months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $568,810,353, or more than $568 million as reported by the participating companies.

"With avionics sales trending in the right direction over the last nine months, it appears that a slow and steady industry recovery is underway," says AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson. "The last six months of 2020 saw a rebound in retrofit sales, and it's encouraging to see forward-fit sales up sharply from the previous quarter in the aircraft manufacturing sector. As new products are introduced at the AEA Convention in June and EAA's AirVenture in July, I'm hopeful that avionics manufacturers will be able to clear some of the supply chain hurdles they face and continue this upward trend."

The dollar amount reported, using the net sales price, not the 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 $568 million in first-quarter 2021 sales, 53.7% or $305,667,893.00 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 46.3% or $263,142,460.00 of first-quarter sales.

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America, that is U.S. and Canada, and other international markets, 76% of the first-quarter sales volume occurred in North America, while 24% took place in other international markets.