GA aircraft shipments rise, bucking trend
GAMA reports $5 billion in first-quarter deliveries
While durable goods orders overall hit a rough patch in April, falling 6.3 percent according to the Commerce Department, general aviation aircraft makers bucked the trend, according to the latest data release from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Photo by Chris Rose.
Airplane shipments for the first quarter totaled 627, an 18-percent increase over the 531 reported during the same period in 2024, GAMA reported. The total value of those deliveries rose 26 percent to $5.04 billion from $4 billion in 2024. Helicopter shipments rose 1.6 percent to 187 while billings rose12.4 percent to $769.2 million, GAMA said.
Shipments of piston helicopters rose 1.9 percent to 54 aircraft while turbine helicopters posted a 1.5-percent increase to 133.
Jonathan Welsh
Digital Media Content Producer
Jonathan Welsh is a private pilot, career journalist and lifelong aviation enthusiast who previously worked as a writer and editor with Flying Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.
