See where Florida ranks on PricewaterhouseCooper's aerospace list

The United States was ranked first in the world in PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2017 Aerospace Manufacturing Attractiveness Rankings, and Florida was No. 6 among the best states for the aerospace and defense industry manufacturing.

While Florida fell four spots this year to sixth place, that’s due in part to a change in PwC’s methodology for the creating the listings, said Scott Thompson, who leads PwC’s U.S. Aerospace and Defense group.

In its report, PwC said the global aerospace and defense industry reported higher revenues and profits in 2016 compared with 2015.

“Demand for air travel increased by 6.3 percent in 2016, the second consecutive year above 6 percent and sixth consecutive year above 5 percent, which is consistent with the 20-year forecast, far exceeding global economic growth expectations, and causing heightened demand for aircraft, engine and parts manufacturing.”

The report also noted that “large commercial aircraft production has already increased more than 40 percent since 2011, with long term forecasts calling for further increases.”

That’s good news for Tampa Bay region companies like PEMCO World Air Services, which does maintenance, repair and overhaul work on airplanes, including converting passenger jets into cargo planes. For instance, in April, PEMCO said it secured a three-year maintenance agreement with U.S.-based low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, covering its expanding fleet, consisting today of more than 60 Airbus A320-family passenger aircraft.

Located adjacent to Tampa International Airport, PEMCO was acquired several months ago by Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group Inc.

Additionally, Aero Simulation Inc., ranked No. 3 on Tampa Bay Business Journal’s list of top defense contractors, most recently reported more than $19 million in contracts in 2015.

PwC based its rankings on labor, infrastructure, industry, economy, cost, tax policy and for countries — geopolitical risk.

The report ranked the U.S. No 1 and stated that it “consistently places first in the aerospace manufacturing rankings as a result of the aerospace industry’s significant scale, supported by a relatively strong economy, robust air transportation infrastructure, and active defense posture.” The country has 1,710 aircraft, engine and parts manufacturing companies and $212 billion in annual revenue, PwC said.

Florida lost ground this year in the PwC analysis because it “may be a victim of its own success,” said Thompson, pointing to renewed investment along the Space Coast. That is “having an impact on the cost and availability of labor,” he said.

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