Competitiveness of the EU Aerospace Industry Aeronautics Industry

356 Pages·2009·4.21 MB·English

FWC Sector
Competitiveness Studies -
Competitiveness of the EU
Aerospace Industry
with focus on:
Aeronautics Industry
Within the Framework Contract of
Sectoral Competitiveness Studies –
ENTR/06/054
Final Report

Client: European Commission, Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry

Munich, 15 December 2009

Disclaimer: The views and propositions expressed herein are those of the experts and do not necessar-
ily represent any official view of the European Commission or any other organisations mentioned in
the Report

ECORYS Nederland BV
P.O. Box 4175
3006 AD Rotterdam
Watermanweg 44
3067 GG Rotterdam
The Netherlands

T [phone]
F [phone]
E [email protected]
W www.ecorys.com
Registration no. 24316726

ECORYS Macro & Sector Policies
T [phone]
F [phone]

Table of contents
1 Introduction 19
1.1 Previous Work 19
1.2 Particularities of the Industry 20
1.3 Historical Evolution of the Industry 23
1.3.1 Horizontal Evolution of the Industry 23
1.3.2 Vertical Evolution 25
1.4 Business Cycles in the Aerospace Industry 26
2 The Quantitative Analysis of the European Aerospace Industry 31
2.1 The Sectoral Analysis of the European Aerospace Industry 32
2.1.1 The Development and Performance of the Aerospace Industry 33
2.1.2 The Structure of the Industry 36
2.1.3 Performance Comparison to the Total European Economy 37
2.1.4 The Regional Distribution of the European Aerospace Industry 39
2.1.5 The Intra-European Trade Relations of the European Aerospace
Industry 46
2.1.6 The Extra-European Trade of the Aerospace Industry 50
2.1.7 The Performance of the EU Aerospace Industry in Global Trade by
Subsectors 58
2.2 The Microeconomic Performance of the European Aerospace Industry 61
2.2.1 The Intra-European Comparison of the Performance of Aerospace
Companies 61
2.2.2 The Microeconomic Analysis of the Aerospace Industry: comparison
of the EU with main competitors 79
3 The Qualitative Analysis of the European Aerospace Industry 89
3.1 The Country Reports 89
3.1.1 France 89
3.1.2 United Kingdom 101
3.1.3 Germany 111
3.1.4 Italy 123
3.1.5 Spain 127
3.1.6 Poland 135
3.1.7 Assessment of National Policies dedicated to the Aerospace Industry 140
3.2 Companies Behaviour 142
3.2.1 Changing Market Environment 142
3.2.2 Procurement Strategies of OEMs 143
3.2.3 Patterns of Interaction in Different Segments of the Supply Chain 144
3.2.4 Supply Chain Evolution and Sourcing Activities 146
A/FN97615
3.2.5 Extent and Role of Smaller Enterprises in the EU Aerospace Sector 149
3.3 Subsectors of the Aerospace Industry 152
3.3.1 Large Civil Aircraft 152
3.3.2 Regional Aircraft 158
3.3.3 Business and General Aviation 161
3.3.4 Helicopters 167
3.3.5 Engines 171
3.3.6 Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul 176
3.4 Products and Technology 179
3.4.1 Technologies and Technological Competitiveness 179
3.4.2 Aircraft 179
3.4.3 Aircraft Configuration 179
3.4.4 Aerodynamics 181
3.4.5 Structures, Materials and Manufacturing 181
3.4.6 Propulsion 183
3.4.7 Fuels 184
3.4.8 Flight Mechanics, Navigation, Control and Avionics 185
3.4.9 Cabin 185
3.4.10 Systems Engineering/Processes 185
3.4.11 Carbon-Fibre Composites for the Aerospace Industry 186
4 The Framework Conditions for the European Aerospace Industry 189
4.1 Labour Force and Skills 189
4.1.1 Introduction 189
4.1.2 Employment Level and Structure 191
4.1.3 Skilled Labour Force Demand and Supply 193
4.1.4 Labour Mobility 196
4.1.5 Labour Force and Qualification in Non-European Countries 197
4.1.6 Conclusion 202
4.2 The Openness of Third Markets 203
4.2.1 Introduction 203
4.2.2 Safety and Functional Standards 204
4.2.3 Distorted Competition by Unconcealed and Concealed Support 205
4.2.4 System Integration and the Internationalisation of Subsidy Sourcing 207
4.2.5 Conclusion 208
4.3 Access to Finance 208
4.4 Knowledge: R&D, Innovation and Product Development 212
4.4.1 European Research Policy 212
4.4.2 European R&D Funding Schemes 213
4.4.3 National R&D Funding Schemes 215
4.5 The Environmental Framework Conditions 216
4.6 The Operational Environment: Air Traffic Management 217
5 The Global Aerospace Industry 221
5.1 The US Aerospace Industry 221
5.1.1 The Size and Development of the Aerospace Industry 221
5.1.2 The External Trade of the US Aerospace Industry 230
5.2 The Russian Aerospace Industry 236
5.2.1 The Size and Development of the Aerospace Industry 236
5.2.2 The External Trade of the Russian Aerospace Industry 240
5.2.3 Conclusion 244
5.3 The Canadian Aerospace Industry 244
5.3.1 The Size and Development of the Aerospace Industry 244
5.3.2 The External Trade of the Canadian Aerospace Industry 250
5.4 The Brazilian Aerospace Industry 254
5.4.1 The Size and Development of the Aerospace Industry 254
5.4.2 The External Trade of the Brazilian Aerospace Industry 257
5.5 The Japanese Aerospace Industry 261
5.5.1 The Size and Development of the Aerospace Industry 261
5.5.2 The External Trade of the Japanese Aerospace Industry 268
5.6 The Aerospace Industry of Emerging Competing Nations 270
5.6.1 Aerospace Industry of India 270
5.6.2 Aerospace Industry of China 277
5.6.3 Aerospace Industry of South Africa 284
5.6.4 Aerospace Industry of Australia 287
6 The Competitiveness of the EU Aerospace Industry 291
6.1 The Economic Performance of the European Aerospace Industry 292
6.1.1 Comparison of Efficiency and Financial Performance 292
6.1.2 The EU27 Comparative Advantage against the US 294
6.2 The Impact of Companies’ Strategies on the Performance of the European
Aerospace Industry 295
6.2.1 Industrial Organization 295
6.2.2 Regional Development 297
6.3 The Impact of Regulatory Framework Conditions on the Performance of
the Aerospace Industry 299
6.3.1 Public Initiatives directed towards the Aerospace Industry 299
6.3.2 Labour Market 301
6.3.3 The Openness of Third Markets 303
6.3.4 Access to Finance 304
6.4 Positioning of Competing Nations in the Global Aerospace Market 305
6.5 The Performance of the European Aerospace Industry in International
Competition 310
6.5.1 The Performance of the EU27 in International Trade 310
6.5.2 Patterns in International Markets for Aerospace Products 312
6.5.3 The European Aerospace Industry’s State in Technologies 313
7 The Strategic Outlook for the EU Aerospace Industry 317
7.1 Evaluation of the EU AI and Policy Recommendations 317
7.1.1 The SWOT-Analysis 317
7.1.2 Recommendations 322
7.2 The Perspectives for the European Aerospace Industry 325
7.2.1 The Impact of the Current Crisis on the Demand for Aircraft 325
7.2.2 The Long-term Outlook 329
8 References 333
A/FN97615
9 Annexes 340
9.1 Annex 1: List of Abbreviations 340
9.2 Annex 2: Indicators Applied in the Sectoral Statistical Analysis 343
9.3 Annex 3: Different Statistical Approaches for Sectoral Analyses: Eurostat
Statistics and Statistics of the European Association of the Aerospace
Industry (ASD) 347
9.4 Annex 4: List of Aerospace Companies in Microeconomic Sample 349
9.5 Annex 5: Indicators Applied in the Microeconomic Statistical Analysis 355