2019 Facts & Figures: U.S. Aerospace and Defense

Over the past decade, the United States has faced a range of significant events that deeply affected international markets, including increased political gridlock in Washington, a lack of budget agreements, and multiple government shutdowns. Despite these market-altering forces, aerospace and defense’s total sales have increased steadily each year. This can be attributed to an array of factors unique to this particular industry. On the commercial side, experts estimate that production will steadily increase due to a strong backlog. For defense products, a rise in geopolitical threats has resulted in increased spending on a global scale as allies in foreign markets continue to procure cutting-edge American technology.

The total sales revenue of the industry in 2018 exceeded $929 billion, an increase of 4.17% from the previous year. The impact of this growth has been substantial for the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). In 2018 alone, A&D contributed over $374 billion to the GDP of the United States, representing 1.8% of the entire GDP.