The Aircraft Electronics Association has released its third quarter 2023 Avionics Market Report. In the first nine months of the year, worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $2,415,800,131.52, as reported by the participating companies.

During the third quarter months of July, August and September, sales increased 9.9 per cent compared to the same time one year ago. Although third quarter sales decreased 1.1 per cent sequentially from the second quarter of 2023, the more than $814 million in sales during the third quarter marked the second-highest quarterly sales volume in the history of the report and is only surpassed by the previous quarter.

The figure represented a 15.9 per cent increase in total sales compared to the first nine months of 2022, which was driven by a 26.2 per cent increase in forward-fit sales compared to the same time one year ago. Also of note, quarterly forward-fit sales topped $400 million for only the fourth time in the history of the report.

The dollar amount reported, using the net sales price rather than 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 $2.4 billion in sales during the first nine months of 2023, 40.7 per cent came from the retrofit market, namely avionics equipment installed after original production, while forward-fit sales from avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production amounted to 59.3 per cent of year-to-date sales.

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America, namely US and Canada, and other international markets, 73.3 per cent of the sales volume in the first nine months occurred in North America, while 26.7 per cent took place in other international markets.

"The industry continues to produce robust forward-fit sales," says AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson. "However, the retrofit market has grown only 3.6 per cent year-on-year in sales. Even with persistent challenges in the supply chain, avionics manufacturers have done an extraordinary job managing issues and report improvement in product lead times compared to last year. While it's encouraging that more products are able to get to market, we still face capacity issues due to workforce needs. Our members report their backlogs continue to increase as their need for technicians grows."