Wordwide business and general aviation avionics sales totaled $1.14 billion during the first half of 2017, up 2.7% from the same time last year, according to the Aircraft Electronics Association.
Retrofit sales, avionics equipment installed after original production, totaled $643.9 million during the first half of the year, up 26.3% from $509.7 million in the first half of 2016. Forward-fit sales, avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production, totaled $501.0 million during the first six months of 2017, down 17.3% from $605.5 during the same time a year ago.
Of the total sales by market for the first six months of 2017, 70.6% came from the U.S. and Canada, with the remainder from international customers.
“It’s encouraging to see a positive increase in year-over-year sales for two straight quarters, something we haven’t experienced since 2014,” said AEA President Paula Derks. The retrofit market has seen the biggest growth in sales, which helped offset a decline in forward-fit sales.
For the second quarter of 2017, sales totaled $578.8 million, a 5.4% increase over second-quarter 2016 sales of $549.2 million. Second-quarter sales included $321.1 million in retrofit sales and $257.7 million in forward-fit sales, according to AEA.
http://aviationweek.com/nbaa-2017/bizav-general-aviation-avionics-sales-upswing