The figure represented a 5.3 percent decrease in sales compared to the third-quarter 2014 amount of $614,406,537.56, or more than $614 million as reported a year ago by the participating companies.

In the first nine months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $1,774,430,593.32, or more than $1.7 billion as reported by the participating companies. This marked a 7.5 percent decrease in year-over-year sales compared to the first nine months of 2014, which was more than $1.9 billion.

The dollar amount reported (using net sales price, not manufacturer's suggested retail price) includes: all business and general aviation aircraft electronic sales -- including all component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/portables/certified and noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the participating manufacturers. The amount does not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services. 

Of the more than $1.7 billion in sales during the first nine months of 2015, 51.4 percent came fromforward-fit (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) sales, or more than $911 million. The retrofit (avionics equipment installed after original production) market amounted to 48.6 percent of sales during the first nine months of the current year, or more than $862 million. 

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 64.3 percent of sales in the first nine months occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 35.7 percent took place in other international markets.

"Unfortunately, the report shows some softness in sales this quarter and in the current year," said AEA President Paula Derks. "With a year-over-year sales decline of 7.5 percent, clearly, our industry continues to face some economic challenges that may be primarily related to the strength of the U.S. dollar in the international markets. In addition, while the FAA reports that the ADS-B equipage pace has grown in the past year, it has not resulted in a similar increase in total avionics sales. The AEA will continue to monitor these and other economic forces moving forward."

More information about the AEA Avionics Market Report is available online at www.aea.net/marketreport. 

History and Background Information:
The AEA first introduced its Avionics Market Report March 26, 2013, during the 56th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to 2012, there never had been an effort to capture the true dollar size of the business and general aviation avionics market. The concept to produce the AEA Avionics Market Report began in April 2012, when the AEA formed an ad hoc committee comprised of representatives of avionics manufacturers to create a tool for strategic planning and examining market share. 

"This report provides valuable information to promote the business and general aviation avionics industry to investors and inform elected officials of its global economic value," Derks said when the report was first introduced.

To ensure confidentiality, the participating manufacturing companies submit their sales figures to an independent third-party firm retained to produce the AEA Avionics Market Report. The companies currently participating in the report include:

• Alto Aviation
• Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp.
• Appareo Systems
• Aspen Avionics
• BendixKing
• Cool City Avionics
• FreeFlight Systems
• Garmin
• Genesys Aerosystems
• Gogo Business Aviation
• Honeywell Business & General Aviation
• Jupiter Avionics
• Latitude Technologies
• L-3 Aviation Products
• Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics
• PS Engineering
• Rockwell Collins
• Sandia Aerospace
• Shadin Avionics
• Trig Avionics
• Universal Avionics Systems Corp. 

The number of companies that participate in the AEA Avionics Market Report may change on a quarterly and/or annual basis, and any comparative analysis of the data should take this into consideration. 

All dollar amounts noted are U.S. dollars. The AEA Avionics Market Report should not be considered a predictive indicator of future industry sales activity. The circumstances discussed in the report may not occur in future time periods, and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the AEA Avionics Market Report and the companies that participate in the report. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Aircraft Electronics Association, along with the participating companies in the AEA Avionics Market Report, undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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The Aircraft Electronics Association represents more than 1,300 repair stations from throughout the world specializing in maintenance, repair and installation of avionics and electronic systems in general aviation aircraft. AEA membership also includes manufacturers of avionics equipment, instrument repair facilities, instrument manufacturers, airframe manufacturers, test equipment manufacturers, major distributors, engineers and educational institutions.