WASHINGTON, DC, July 25, 2003 ─ Shipments of general aviation airplanes for the first half of 2003 totaled 1,031 units, a drop of 13.8 percent from the same period last year according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Industry billings for the first six months were $4.05 billion, down 32.3 percent from 2002.

“The shipment numbers are largely in line with the production schedules our manufacturers announced for the year and they reflect the continued weakness in the economy,” said GAMA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “The positive new is that single-engine piston shipments are holding steady and we are beginning to see some indications that the accelerated depreciation GAMA pushed to have included in the recent tax bill is stimulating some new orders.”

Although shipments of multi-engine airplanes fell in the first half of 2003, shipments of single-engine piston airplanes were up 1.4 percent over the same period last year—from 663 units to 672 units. Shipments of turboprop airplanes declined 10.8 percent from 111 units in the first half of last year to 99 units this year. Business jet shipments decreased from 352 units in the first six months of last year to 222 during the same period this year.