The number one category of products shipped from Greater Miami remains aircraft parts
By Yousra Benkirane
The aviation industry is deeply ingrained in the history of Miami. In 1911, the Wright Brothers performed aerial stunts over the city. A year later, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtis established a flight school in Miami Beach, one of the nation’s earliest. In 1937, Amelia Earhart launched her ill-fated around-the-world flight from the Magic City, where she had visited twice before as a guest promoter for the aviation industry. The country’s first modern passenger terminal opened at Pan American Field in 1928; it was officially designated as Miami International Airport (MIA) in 1948.
For Florida, the aviation and aerospace industry has become a leading contributor to the state’s economy. Manufacturers like Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and Sikorsky have clustered around the Kennedy Space Center east of Orlando. The result is that Florida consistently ranks among the top exporting states in the U.S. for aircraft parts, most of them passing through the Miami Customs District (MCD). In 2022, Florida exported $10.2 billion worth of aircraft parts – MCD accounted for $9.8 billion of them (MCD includes MIA, PortMiami, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Port Everglades, Port of Key West, West Palm Beach International Airport, and Port of Palm Beach).
This year’s pace is running almost as hot. In the first half of 2023, aviation parts exports from the Miami district came to nearly $5.3 billion, just a slight 2.32 percent drop compared to the same period last year. The decrease reflects the slowdown in trade volumes from 2022’s post-pandemic surge in pent-up demand.
The top export destinations for these aircraft parts, through July of this year, were Brazil ($2.5B), Chile ($333M), Argentina ($228M), Colombia ($267M), and Mexico ($172M). These top destinations reflect a new demand for aviation services in the region, as nearshoring begins to take hold and more carrying capacity is needed. As more U.S. companies turn to South and Central America for supply sources, the countries there have been developing additional aircraft maintenance and repair facilities, which in turn require more parts. In Brazil, where demand for parts is highest, you have new carriers such as Azul, new service providers like Synerjet, and the ongoing presence of global aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
In some cases, aircraft parts are manufactured in Miami, sent to Latin America to be assembled, and then exported back to South Florida as a finished product. This is the case for Embraer, the Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that is among the world’s top exporters of aircraft. Embraer is the largest importer of aviation parts from Florida; until just a few years ago, the import of Embraer aircraft through Miami pushed that sector to fourth place for all imports coming through the district. Now, only assembled jet engines are among MCD’s top imports ($357M).
In terms of just aircraft parts imports, this category doesn’t even make the top 10. In 2022, MCD imported just $1.1 billion worth of aircraft parts, mostly coming from France ($385M) and Brazil ($314M). That may increase now that MIA is officially a Free Trade Zone (FTZ). Earlier this year, LATAM Airlines group became the first operator within MIA’s F TZ magnet site. This allows airport tenants to import materials for onsite use to repair and maintain aircraft, or to store and/or re-distribute them anywhere on MIA property, without tariffs.
At present, Miami-Dade County has some 494 aviation companies that employ 29,814 people, from technicians to mechanics. Statewide, there are 640 aerospace establishments, three spaceport facilities, 2,000 aviation establishments, 130-plus public-use airports, and 20 commercial service airports. The growth of aviation related services and businesses in Florida, Miami, and their trade partners will continue to increase the flow of goods related to the industry and impact the local economy. Boeing estimates that just its Flight Training Center in Miami, for example, is responsible for 80,000 hotel room nights annually.
