Commercial Aircraft Industry Report

Aviation’s second golden age:

Can the US aircraft industry

maintain leadership?

December 2013

In this report we share

insights from industry

leaders on pressing issues,

and cast light on current—

and future—advancements

and policies needed to help

the US commercial aircraft

industry thrive as it enters

an era of mounting

competition and high stakes.

In partnership with:

Table of contents

The heart of the matter

The commercial aircraft industry is booming—but can the US stay on top?

2

A second golden age

3

An in-depth discussion

Paths to securing US leadership in commercial aircraft

4

Globalization: Fast-growing markets, fierce competition

Innovation: R&D and manufacturing in the post-aluminum era

Where is commercial aircraft manufacturing poised for growth in the US?

Talent: Filling the pipeline

5

14

22

25

What this means for your business

Top industry issues and what companies are doing (or can do)

32

Issues, implications, actions

33

Appendices

36

National study complete raw data

Global study complete raw data

36

38

About PwC, acknowledgements

40

About the PwC network

41

About the PwC Aerospace & Defense practice

41

Acknowledgements 41

Table of contents

1

The heart of the matter

The commercial aircraft industry

is booming—but can the US

stay on top?

2

Aviation’s second golden age: Can the US aircraft industry maintain leadership?

A second golden age

On the surface, the current surge

in demand for commercial aircraft

globally bodes well for leading US

original equipment manufacturers

and their suppliers. Backlog orders

are unprecedented; Boeing and Airbus

presently combine for orders of over 9,000

commercial aircraft.1 The aircraft sector

is the country’s biggest net exporter, with

a trade surplus of $71.1 billion in 2012.2

As one of the country’s top high-tech and

heavy manufacturing sectors, aerospace

manufacturing...