The elephant in the room at the International Paris Show? The aviation industry’s supply chain woes. Although this week’s event for the aviation sector will highlight strong demand for commercial aircraft, what it will likely gloss over are the supply chain troubles hindering the delivery of parts, Reuters explains in an analysis. It is widely believed that the aviation industry’s supply chain, which has been plagued by increasing costs as well as shortages in parts and skilled labor, will have to be restructured, which could take years to achieve.

Struggles of the little guy: Smaller suppliers, burdened by debt that they took on during the pandemic, are now struggling to afford new capacity. “The issue now is deep down in the supply chain, tier-three suppliers and lower, where the investment and headcount required for the demand picture makes them very nervous and makes their lenders very nervous,” said one lessor.

Is a consolidation trend coming? Meanwhile, large suppliers are considering in-house work as a potential solution. “We’re looking at it more broadly than we ever have in probably the last 20 years,” Madsen said. Consolidation is also a possible way out, other industry players say.

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