Aerospace Products and Parts Manufacture
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Industry Overview
The US aerospace industry includes about 1,500 companies with combined annual revenue of $125 billion. Large companies include Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and General Dynamics. The industry is highly concentrated: the 20 largest companies account for more than 90 percent of industry revenue. Many companies work primarily as subcontractors to the five largest manufacturers.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven by the US military budget and the overall economic climate, which affects airline traffic and demand for new commercial aircraft. The profitability of individual companies depends on technical expertise and the ability to accurately price long-term contracts. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in design, manufacturing, and purchasing. Small companies can compete effectively by concentrating on selected components and parts manufacturing for particular prime contractors. Increasingly, small companies are developing system integration capabilities as large firms outsource more aspects of contracts. Production of aircraft and major aircraft components is highly automated: average revenue per employee is over $300,000.
Products, Operations & Technology
Major products are aircraft, including commercial, military, private and business planes; aircraft components, including engines, fuselages, interiors, and avionics; missiles and satellites; and space vehicles. Aircraft manufacturing accounts for over 50 percent of industry revenue, aircraft components for about 30 percent, missiles and satellites for about 10 percent, and space vehicles for less than 5 percent.
Boeing is the only US manufacturer for commercial aircraft, but outsources portions of its business to numerous subcontractors. Private and business aircraft are made by companies such as General Dynamics, through its Gulfstream subsidiary, and Cessna. Subcontractors specialize in producing assemblies for various systems, such as engines, fuselages, interiors, rotors, electronic and hydraulic control systems, avionics, and guidance systems.
The manufacturing process involves forming, forging, metal fabricating, painting, and finishing activities. These activities require greater precision and higher grade materials such as aluminum, titanium, and special steel alloys, than in general manufacturing. Assemblies and systems are manufactured according to designs specified by the prime contractor, and often developed in tandem by the prime and subcontractor. Small contractors generally work for a specific prime contractor.
Manufacturing costs are dominated by the costs of materials and supplies, especially aluminum, titanium, and carbon and boron composites. Some materials are available from only a few suppliers. As such, the timing and pricing of some materials and commodities can fluctuate widely.
Technology is constantly changing in the industry. R&D expenses approximate 2 percent of company revenues. Systems development is especially important in the manufacture of guidance systems, communications, and space vehicles. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon both have business units devoted solely to electronic systems development. Aircraft are designed through CAD that allows companies to design an entire aircraft, including its components, by computer. Investment in computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is common. Computer systems are critical for designing, testing, and operating aerospace products.