Business-jet shipments tumbled to a 12-year low last year because of slow economic growth and probably won’t rebound until 2018 when new models debut.
Deliveries fell 7.9 percent last year to 661 from a year earlier, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Sales tumbled 16 percent to $18.4 billion as demand for higher-priced large and medium aircraft dropped the most.
Customers are waiting for the new planes that will debut next year, including the Gulfstream G500 and Bombardier Global 7000, said Pete Bunce, chief executive officer of the trade group. President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce corporate taxes would be “a shot in the arm” for the industry, he said.
“There’s pent-up demand for new product,” he said.
The industry is still working off an oversupply of jets stemming from a buying frenzy in 2007 and 2008 that juiced annual deliveries to an average of more than 1,200 for those two years. The overhang has caused a steady decline in used aircraft prices that continues to weigh on new sales.
“We’re still dealing with the hyper-inflated market that we had experienced before the Great Recession,” Bunce said.
Deliveries are expected to decline 4.5 percent this year before posting gains in 2018, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.
