GAMA released its first-quarter shipments and billings report for 2021, and it appears that the general aviation industry has recovered from the first-quarter dip in shipments and billings in 2020 as the global pandemic emerged in March. The second quarter will likely be more telling, however, as the industry delivered fewer planes in 2020 than 2019 due to factory closures and supply chain disruptions at the peak of the pandemic in April, May, and June.
Nonetheless, it appears that the industry has recovered to near-normal levels of production and deliveries in early 2021, which bodes well for profitability for airframe OEMs this year. The following table shows first-quarter aircraft deliveries and billings and compares 2019, 2020, and 2021.
