AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
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t is frequently said that in Mandarin Chinese, "crisis" and "opportunity" are the same word. Such a notion certainly sums up the current realities of the aerospace industry, where globalization, global politics and changing consumer preferences are converging at a torrid pace. As the dust settles, a new array of winners — companies, communities and
countries — will emerge.
Long before the al-Qaeda terror strikes sent commercial air transportation reeling, competitive pressures had already exacted a weighty toll on much of the industry. Today, as passenger travel has resumed pre-9/11 levels, signs of strain remain, most recently with US Airways, Inc., filing for its second bankruptcy in two years. New manufacturing patterns, work force challenges, trade battles and travel habits continue to keep aerospace firms cautious about site and facility decisions.
Still, the past year has not been without a firm spate of project activity, and many see renewed optimism about the future. "There are promising signs of a rebound in the aerospace industry," says John Douglass, president of the Washington, DC-based Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIAA). U.S. aerospace jobs, among the most coveted in the manufacturing realm, reached a 50-year low in February 2004, AIAA report — at 568,700. But since then, employment in the sector has surged by 11,000. "This growth corresponds with recent increases in shipments by U.S. companies of commercial aviation, general aviation, helicopter and defense-sector systems," Douglass says.
AIAA expects current orders to yield US$148 billion in sales for 2004. And aerospace products remain the star of an otherwise lackluster U.S. export market. In 2003, American aerospace firms produced a $52.5-billion trade surplus, the heftiest of any U.S. manufacturing industry. But don't expect the good news to spark a frenzy when it comes to investments in new land and facilities, Douglass cautions. "The industry already has a lot of empty production space due to the end of former programs, as well as military base closings and other factors," he says.
countries — will emerge.
Long before the al-Qaeda terror strikes sent commercial air transportation reeling, competitive pressures had already exacted a weighty toll on much of the industry. Today, as passenger travel has resumed pre-9/11 levels, signs of strain remain, most recently with US Airways, Inc., filing for its second bankruptcy in two years. New manufacturing patterns, work force challenges, trade battles and travel habits continue to keep aerospace firms cautious about site and facility decisions.
Still, the past year has not been without a firm spate of project activity, and many see renewed optimism about the future. "There are promising signs of a rebound in the aerospace industry," says John Douglass, president of the Washington, DC-based Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIAA). U.S. aerospace jobs, among the most coveted in the manufacturing realm, reached a 50-year low in February 2004, AIAA report — at 568,700. But since then, employment in the sector has surged by 11,000. "This growth corresponds with recent increases in shipments by U.S. companies of commercial aviation, general aviation, helicopter and defense-sector systems," Douglass says.
AIAA expects current orders to yield US$148 billion in sales for 2004. And aerospace products remain the star of an otherwise lackluster U.S. export market. In 2003, American aerospace firms produced a $52.5-billion trade surplus, the heftiest of any U.S. manufacturing industry. But don't expect the good news to spark a frenzy when it comes to investments in new land and facilities, Douglass cautions. "The industry already has a lot of empty production space due to the end of former programs, as well as military base closings and other factors," he says.
