Recovery in the general aviation manufacturing industry is faltering, according to the latest figures from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. (GAMA)
Aircraft shipments for the first six months of the year fell by 15.5%, to 791 piston and turbine-powered types. This compares with 936 aircraft for the same period last year.
Billings for the period also plunged by more than 22%, to $7.3 billion, says Washington DC-based GAMA, which points to the US government's anti-business aircraft stance as a key contributor to the industry's woes.
"These negative shipment numbers demonstrate precisely how ill-timed and potentially destructive the Obama administration's rhetoric and policies toward corporate jets are for general aviation," said GAMA's president Pete Bunce.
"This administration has singled-out business aircraft owners with political demagoguery. It is simply astonishing that they cannot connect the dots back to manufacturing jobs and realise they are doing more damage to an industry that has obviously not yet clawed its way out of this recession," he added.
The business jet sector fared worst, with airframers delivering only 261 aircraft between January and June - a decrease of 26.5% compared to the same period last year.
Turboprop shipments fell by 8.9%, to 143 units in the first six months, while the piston tally dropped by 8.7% to 387 units.
Source: Flight International
