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World's Top Exports

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Helicopters Exports by Country

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Helicopter landing
Helicopter landing
Worldwide sales for helicopters exports by country totaled US$5.7 billion in 2019.

The overall value of exported helicopters declined by an average -20.7% for all exporting countries since 2015 when helicopters sold on international markets were valued at $7.2 billion. Year over year, exports of helicopters decreased by -1.9% from 2018 to 2019.

The value of exported smaller helicopters equaled $1.002 billion in 2019 representing 17.5% of the overall total. The comparable metric for exported larger helicopters was $4.732 billion or 82.5% of total helicopters sold via the global marketplace.

From a continental perspective, suppliers in North America earned the most revenue from exported helicopters during 2019 with deliverables valued at $2.6 billion or 46.1% of the global total. In second place were European exporters at 42.6% while 4.7% of international helicopter sales originated from Oceania notably Australia. Another 4.2% came from Asia, Africa (2.1%) and Latin America (0.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code prefix for smaller helicopters is 880211 for those weighing 2,000 kilograms (4,409.25 pounds) or less. Concerning larger helicopters, the HTS code is 880212. Both codes were used to calculate the figures presented below.

Helicopters Exports by Country

Total

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of helicopters (including both large and small models) during 2019.

  1. United States: US$1.9 billion (33.1% of total exported helicopters)
  2. Canada: $743.9 million (13%)
  3. Germany: $723.5 million (12.6%)
  4. France: $566.8 million (9.9%)
  5. United Kingdom: $475.8 million (8.3%)
  6. Australia: $258.1 million (4.5%)
  7. Italy: $205.4 million (3.6%)
  8. Poland: $168.8 million (2.9%)
  9. Singapore: $71.2 million (1.2%)
  10. Switzerland: $54.3 million (0.9%)
  11. Czech Republic: $45.7 million (0.8%)
  12. South Africa: $38.9 million (0.7%)
  13. Malaysia: $35.6 million (0.62%)
  14. China: $34.6 million (0.6%)
  15. India: $31.2 million (0.54%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.3% of globally exported helicopters in 2019.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing helicopters exporters since 2015 were: Australia (up 1,213%), Poland (up 1001.2%), India (up 232.3%) and Malaysia (up 85.1%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported helicopters sales were led by: Italy (down -79.9%), China (down -65.1%), Singapore (down -64.5%), France (down -40.7%) and Canada (down -23.8%).

Small

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of smaller-sized helicopters during 2019 (under tariff code 880211).

  1. Canada: US$400 million (39.9% of exported small helicopters)
  2. France: $235.3 million (23.5%)
  3. Germany: $90.6 million (9%)
  4. Singapore: $24.3 million (2.4%)
  5. Norway: $21.5 million (2.1%)
  6. Switzerland: $21.1 million (2.1%)
  7. Italy: $19.5 million (1.9%)
  8. Australia: $19.2 million (1.9%)
  9. South Africa: $18.6 million (1.9%)
  10. Austria: $18 million (1.8%)
  11. United Kingdom: $17.2 million (1.7%)
  12. Netherlands: $16.1 million (1.6%)
  13. Sweden: $15.2 million (1.5%)
  14. Czech Republic: $14.8 million (1.5%)
  15. Croatia: $6.2 million (0.6%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.6% of globally exported small helicopters in 2019.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of small helicopters since 2015 were: Netherlands (up 954.5%), Australia (up 207.1%), Norway (up 146.1%) and Singapore (up 108.5%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported small helicopters sales were led by: United Kingdom (down -26.5%), France (down -24.3%), Austria (down -14.7%), Italy (down -14.3%) and South Africa (down -12.9%).

Large

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of larger-sized helicopters during 2019 (under tariff code 880212).

  1. United States: US$1.9 billion (40.1% of exported large helicopters)
  2. Germany: $632.9 million (13.4%)
  3. United Kingdom: $458.6 million (9.7%)
  4. Canada: $343.9 million (7.3%)
  5. France: $331.5 million (7%)
  6. Australia: $238.9 million (5%)
  7. Italy: $185.8 million (3.9%)
  8. Poland: $164.6 million (3.5%)
  9. Nigeria: $50.9 million (1.1%)
  10. Singapore: $47 million (1%)
  11. Malaysia: $35.6 million (0.8%)
  12. Switzerland: $33.1 million (0.7%)
  13. India: $31.2 million (0.7%)
  14. Czech Republic: $30.9 million (0.7%)
  15. China: $29.5 million (0.6%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.3% of globally exported large helicopters in 2019.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of large helicopters since 2015 were: Australia (up 1,682%), Poland (up 1,361%), India (up 352.1%) and Malaysia (up 85%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported large helicopters sales were led by: Nigeria (down -85.9%), Italy (down -81.4%), Singapore (down -75.2%), China (down -54.7%) and France (down -48.6%).

Companies

Helicopters Manufacturing Companies

Below are established players engaged in the international trade of helicopters. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.

  • Airbus Helicopters (France)
  • Bell Helicopter (United States)
  • Denel SOC Ltd (South Africa)
  • Helibras (Brazil)
  • Heli-Sport Helicopters (Italy)
  • RotorWay Helicopter Manufacturing Company (United States)
  • Youngcopter (Germany)


 

See also Aerospace Exports by Country and Aircraft Parts Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 6, 2020

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 6, 2020

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 6, 2020

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 6, 2020

Wikipedia, List of rotorcraft manufacturers by country. Accessed on June 6, 2020