Business Jet Market Is Improving, Believes JPMorgan

Demand for new business jets "showed signs of perking up" in the second quarter, according to the latest monthly report on the industry from JPMorgan North American Equity Research. JPMorgan analyst Joseph Nadol III cautioned, however, that "mixed signals persist" and the firm noted that the high end of the market remained healthier than the low end, with Gulfstream posting the strongest numbers. Since second-quarter deliveries reported by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association were 57 percent off the peak in the second quarter of 2008, "the risk of another downturn of similar magnitude looks minimal," concluded JPMorgan. "We do believe that bizjets are somewhat insulated from further [production] rate cuts."