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Aerospace in Washington
Washington is the undisputed center of the commercial aircraft industry in the United States. As of 2011, all commercial aircraft over 100 seats built in the United States are assembled and delivered in Washington State. Even with Boeing’s new plant in South Carolina, 90 percent of aircraft delivered in the U.S. will be assembled in Washington.
Air travel is expected to grow by over 5 percent per year for the next 20 years, and the world’s airlines will purchase nearly 30,000 new jet aircraft with over 100 seats. Washington Aerospace Partnership is committed to ensuring that Washington remains the center of U.S. aircraft assembly and continues to deliver a very large share of those new aircraft.
A major industry today
In 2010, The Boeing Company delivered 462 airplanes to customers throughout the world, all of which were assembled in the company’s plants in Renton and Everett, Washington.
With 787 deliveries and production rate increases for 737s and 777s this number will grow in 2012 and beyond.
Boeing’s production is supported by approximately 650 aerospace-related companies located in 28 counties in Washington Employment at Boeing and the other firms in the industry stood at 84,000 employees in early 2011. Each job in the industry generates nearly three additional jobs throughout the economy, so that aerospace is responsible for about 250,000 jobs in Washington.
Not only is aerospace a large employer, but it also is a very well-paying sector with great career prospects for its workers. About 35 percent of aerospace employment falls under R&D, with thousands of engineers and scientists designing the next generation of aircraft. Thousands of highly skilled production workers bring home paychecks well above average. Many people in the Boeing workforce are third and fourth generation employees, a testament to the quality and loyalty of the state’s aerospace workforce.
An industry for the future
Aerospace is an outstanding industry for the future economy of Washington. The major airframe producers – Boeing, as well as Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier – all project global increases in travel of at least 5 percent per year, with annual passenger miles nearly tripling over the next 20 years. To meet this demand for new travel, and to replace aging and inefficient aircraft, airlines will purchase new planes at a rate of nearly 1,500 per year.
Crucial decisions ahead
About two thirds of the planes sold in the next 20 years will be single-aisle, transcontinental planes like the Boeing 737. Boeing is strongly considering developing a brand new airplane to serve this market segment. In doing so, the company would very likely build a brand new assembly facility, employing thousands of workers.
It is critical for Washington’s aerospace strategy that the new facility is built in Washington. WAP is working with communities across the state to make Washington an easy choice for Boeing by making sure that this is far and away the best place in the country for aircraft assembly.
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