Aircraft, Marine & Railroad Transportation Equipment Wholesalers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 2,100 aircraft, marine, and railroad transportation equipment wholesalers act as middlemen between original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and customers, which include carriers, manufacturers, repair and maintenance facilities, the U.S. military, government organizations, dealers, and retailers. Wholesalers are integral to transportation equipment supply chains, which can involve the movement of millions of parts and components.
Dependence on Government Support
Government contracts can account for a significant percentage of sales for some aircraft and marine equipment wholesale companies.
Legacy Aircraft Create Aftermarket Opportunities
As customers extend the life of aircraft that may have otherwise been retired, MRO operators are increasingly turning to aftermarket parts.
Industry size & Structure
The average aircraft, marine, and railroad equipment wholesaler employs about 17 workers and generates $24 million annually.
- The aircraft, marine, and railroad equipment wholesale industry consists of about 2,100 firms that employ 37,300 workers and generate $51 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated with the top 50 companies accounting for more than 70% of industry revenue.
- Large companies with aircraft, marine, and railroad equipment wholesaling operations include First Aviation Services, Dynatech International (ISO Group), Proponent, West Marine Pro, Land ‘n Sea (Brunswick), Progress Rail (Caterpillar), Railserve (Marmon Holdings), and Bridgewell Resources.
- Large companies often have international operations.
Industry Forecast
Aircraft, Marine & Railroad Transportation Equipment Wholesalers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Dec 15, 2024 - Growth in Intermodal Traffic
- US freight-rail traffic grew 2.8% in November 2024 compared to the previous month and was the highest it’s been since May 2021, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Freight Rail Index. Intermodal volume grew 10.7% year over year to an average of 282,000 containers and trailers per week in November 2024, reaching the highest weekly average for any November in the organization’s records. Meanwhile, sluggish manufacturing has affected US railroads, with rail carload volumes down 3.8% in November 2024 from a year ago attributed in part to decreased coal shipments. Carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR that posted gains in November included grains (0.7%) and chemicals (3.9%) while coal posted a loss (15.2%). Looking at year-to-date figures, US railroads saw carloads down 3.1% and intermodal units up 9.1% compared to the previous year.
- US manufacturing activity contracted in November 2024, marking the eighth consecutive month of contraction, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 48.4% in November, up 1.9 percentage points from the 46.5% recorded in October. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. Three manufacturing industries reported growth in November: Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Computer & Electronic Products; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. Industries reporting contraction in November were : Printing & Related Support Activities; Plastics & Rubber Products; Chemical Products; Paper Products; Transportation Equipment; Fabricated Metal Products; Furniture & Related Products; Machinery; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Primary Metals. According to ISM’s Timothy Fiore, "U.S. manufacturing activity contracted again in November, but at a slower rate compared to last month. Demand continues to be weak but may be moderating, output declined again, and inputs stayed accommodative.”
- Aircraft delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus are not improving and are “massively frustrating,” according to comments from International Air Transport Association (IATA) officials in a recent report from Reuters. Speaking at a conference in Brussels, director-general Willie Walsh said he expected the supply chain issues slowing aircraft deliveries to continue impacting the industry for the near future. According to Walsh, "It's going to be a problem I think for a number of years to come. The message I get from airline CEOs is the situation doesn't look like it's getting any worse, so it seems to have bottomed out or plateaued, but it's not yet getting better." According to BNN Bloomberg, GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp said the company is working with more than a dozen suppliers to resolve disruptions that have slowed the delivery of its jet engines and created delays for planemakers and airlines. Per Culp, “The shortages that cause us to be late on deliveries really come from about 15 different suppliers across our supply chain. We have 550 engineers going in to work with those suppliers to identify bottlenecks, identify constraints and really solve those problems.”
- The US aircraft, marine, and railroad transportation equipment wholesale industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.4% between 2024 and 2028, according to a forecast from Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The expected growth rate is slower than the overall economy‘s anticipated growth. The report noted that retail and wholesale trade sectors are driven by consumer spending along with business and government expenditures. Consumer confidence is expected to improve in the forecast period, which bodes well for the retail and wholesale industries. Factors that continue to limit consumer spending are lower consumer sentiment levels, higher interest levels, and elevated price levels. On a positive note, inflation is subsiding, which supports a moderate increase of real disposable income by about 1.9% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2025. Production and distribution systems have improved with many imbalances diminishing, according to the forecast.
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