US Continues To Dominate Global Weapons Sales
By The Financial Trends - David Greenberg - 05 Jan. 2024
A new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released Monday showed that there were $597 billion worth of weapons and military services sold by the world’s top 100 arms makers last year.
The watchdog noted that the market continued to be dominated by US companies, even though their overall revenues fell.
There was a 3.5% year-over-year decline in the combined figure for the top 100 arms companies, however, it was still 15% higher than 2015’s total.
There was a 7.9% decline in the sales of US companies, which declined to $302 billion. However, they still accounted for 51% of total revenues in 2022, with 42 American firms represented in the top 100 in the world. The 26 European weapons makers in the ratings saw revenues increase slightly by 0.9% to $121 billion.
SIPRI noted that the decrease globally was primarily due to reduced revenues among major US weapons producers, where coronavirus-related “supply chain issues and labor shortages” cause US firms to struggle to supply products and services.
SIPRI noted that globally, weapons demand has outstripped production, as geopolitical tensions and the war in Ukraine have combined to trigger a surge in demand across the globe.
It was also noted that at the end of 2022, there was a surge in orders for weapons and military services placed by numerous nations which will only be reflected in the revenues in company accounts in two to three years.
SIPRI’s report showed that arms makers in Asia and the Middle East saw their revenues increase significantly in 2022, which it noted demonstrated “their ability to respond to increased demand within a shorter time frame.”
Two Russian companies that made SIPRI’s top 100 list were State-run Rostec and the United Shipbuilding Corporation. Total income for the two companies added up to $20.8 billion, which represented a 12% reduction compared to the previous year.
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