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OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. CIVIL AVIATION MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY 22 manufacturer must invest an additional $1.5 to $2 billion with his return being dependent on the success of the aircraft. TABLE 1-4 U.S. Exports of Civil Aircraft, 1970â1983 (millions of dollars) Year Total Transport Other Total Percent of Merchandise Aircraft Civil Civil Total Exports Aircraft Aircraft Merchandise and and Exports Products Products 1970 42,590 1,283 1,233 2,516 5.9 1971 43,492 1,567 1,513 3,080 7.1 1972 48,959 1,119 1,835 2,954 6.0 1973 70,246 1,664 2,124 3,788 5.4 1974 97,144 2,655 2,618 5,273 5.4 1975 106,561 2,397 2,927 5,824 5.0 1976 113,666 2,468 3,209 5,677 5.0 1977 119,006 1,936 3,113 5,049 4.2 1978 141,228 2,558 3,460 6,018 4.3 1979 178,798 4,998 4,774 9,772 5.5 1980 216,672 6,727 6,521 13,248 6.1 1981 228,961 7,180 6,132 13,312 5.8 1982 207,158 3,834 5,774 9,608 4.6 1983 195,969 4,683 5,912 10,595 5.4 SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census, ''U.S. Exports, Schedule B, Commodity by Country; Highlights of U.S. Export & Import Trade." The financial record of commercial transport manufacturers since World War II is not reassuring. Only 5 of 22 manufacturers of large transports survive in the free world, and the viability of some of them is questionable. Furthermore, the profitability is below the average for all of manufacturing. The industry is subject to major swings in sales, employment, and earnings that create great difficulty in building and maintaining competitive development, design, and production teams. TECHNOLOGY BASE The technologies that underlie U.S. leadership in aircraft manufacture play a critical role in the total constellation of our technological leadership. These technologies include not only the more obvious ones that affect aircraft performanceâaerodynamics, propulsion, advanced structures, and avionics and controlâbut also system integration in the design and manufacture of complex, high-performance equipment; project management to meet demanding targets for performance, cost, and delivery; sophisticated manufacturing techniques for fabrication, testing, and assembly; and computer-integrated manufacture, factory automation, and large-scale integrated information processing. Strength in these technologies diffuses throughout
OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. CIVIL AVIATION MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY 23 Figure 1-1 Imports of Civil Aircraft as Percentage of U.S. Consumption (U.S. production minus exports, plus imports). Source: U.S. Department of Commerce.
