The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) came out with its First Quarter stats on Tuesday, and to the surprise of no one familiar with industry activity, they were further proof of a slow economic recovery process. Overall, total billings were down $3.7 billion compared to the first quarter of last year, a nearly 20 percent drop.
This decline was on the back of poor bizjet sales. GAMA members shipped just 128 jets during 1Q this year compared with 164 in the same period in 2010. GAMA called the piston market a bright spot, but the sales of 188 piston airplanes, which represented a 13.3 percent uptick from last year’s first quarter, is still far below the segment’s performance of just a few years ago.
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