Buyers continue to make their collective presence felt in the pre-owned market, pushing worldwide inventory to multiyear lows following a consistent contraction since last year’s NBAA Convention. Since that time, the market outflow of choices has exceeded the inflow and levels have dipped from 2,600 then to about 2,335 today, a level not seen since the summer of 2008. There are likely a number of factors affecting the depletion, including the perception of an improved U.S. economy, which has stimulated sales activity. In some cases, operators have taken their aircraft off the market and recommitted to deploying them as the business environment in which they operate has improved.
While this downward inventory trend has been in place for the last five years, with a consistent year-over-year depletion of offerings, in the past three quarters activity has heated up significantly. Since the inventory peak in 2009, the number of aircraft for sale worldwide has descended by roughly 750 aircraft, with the last eight months accounting for one third of that figure. That offers a fairly clear indication that this market segment is off life support and breathing on its own. The flurry of activity will likely pull back a bit in the summer months, but the market could be setting up for a more active fall than we have seen in years.
