Satellite Manufacturers Cut Jobs Despite Massive Revenue Growth
By Steve Schuster | June 20, 2013
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The EchoStar 17 (Jupiter 1) is one of the high throughput satellites launched in 2012. It was built by SSL and launched aboard an Ariane 5 booster on July 5, 2012.
Image credit: SSL |
[Satellite TODAY 06-20-13] Despite seeing a 23 percent revenue increase in 2012, the satellite manufacturing sector also saw the biggest loss of U.S. satellite jobs. According to the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) “State of the Satellite Industry Report,” released June 10, the sector lost about 6 percent of workers.
However, Patricia Cooper, president of the SIA, said the employment decrease is only minor. “It’s a slight decline in the satellite employment over the last couple years, according to Bureau of Labor statistics,” she said, noting that the loss is less significant than the 8 percent employment drop over the past five years. “It’s been a relatively gentle decline particularly compared to trends in other manufacturing and service sectors,” Cooper added.
Even in some of the toughest worldwide economic times in history, satellite industry revenues increased overall by 7 percent in 2012 with revenues at $189.5 billion. The launch, manufacturing, services, and ground equipment sectors demonstrated growth, according to the report, which was compiled with an in-depth industry analysis by The Tauri Corp.
“I was really pleased at the overall growth in all four sectors especially considering the economic downturn and concerns of decreased government spending,” Cooper said.
The launch industry saw the most growth with a 35 percent increase over 2011, followed by the satellite manufacturing sector.
“SIA and the U.S. government have been watching manufacturing very closely. We were pleased to see 2012 was the year when a significant number of spacecraft were launched and revenues were up. Big government programs were delivered in 2012 which continued the cycle of the big fleet operators expanding and replenishing their satellites,” Cooper added.
Satellite services saw a 5 percent increase and the ground equipment industry saw an increase of 4 percent in 2012. “We saw growth in consumer and commercial sectors, with government space craft and other launches,” she said.
While the satellite industry performed well overall, employment decreased in the U.S. market by 1 percent across all four sectors in 2012. The additional 1-percent drop translates to a loss of more than 20,000 jobs with U.S. satellite companies between 2007 and 2012.
Moving forward in 2013, Cooper said she plans to focus the association’s attention on the U.S. Government. “SIA is going to be focused on the policies of the U.S. Government, allowing us [the satellite industry] to grow, innovate and invest,” Cooper said noting that “this is a strong industrial sector and we want to continue leading the way.”
And in context of innovative solutions, Cooper believes that High Throughput Satellites (HTS) offer a myriad of opportunities. “There is a clear demand for bandwidth and an endless need for satellite connectivity,” she said. “HTS technology makes sense from an economic model, to maximize services.”
According to the report, 22 HTS have been ordered or are being manufactured and 18 are currently in orbit. While the increased demand is not surprising, Cooper said she was surprised by some of the findings in the report including that fewer satellites were launched in 2012 compared to 2011. But she said the reason for this is the launch of more robust spacecraft.
“In 2012 the larger satellites prevailed. We had fewer, but larger, satellites,” Cooper said noting that typically numbers from several years are compared rather than a year-to-year comparison.
Overall, Cooper believes that the report’s numbers indicate that the industry is moving in the right direction. “I think it shows the satellite industry remains in high demand and is adaptable to a quickly evolving communications environment,” she said.
According to the report, global satellite industry revenues have nearly tripled since 2001 with an average 10 percent growth per year. There are currently more than 1000 satellites operating as of year-end 2012. While 38 percent of satellites are currently in use for commercial communications, 16 percent are used for government communications and 8 percent for military surveillance. Only 9 percent of satellites in use are for space science, 3 percent for meteorology and 7 percent for navigation. Additionally, 9 percent of satellites are used for research and development purposes and 10 percent are used for remote sensing. The report is based on unclassified sources and a survey of 80 companies worldwide.
In commercial sectors, satellite radio grew 12 percent in 2012 with a subscriber growth of 9 percent in to nearly 24,000 with a primary U.S. customer base. Additionally, 80 percent of all satellite services revenue stems from satellite television, the report states, noting that satellite broadband services saw a 10 percent growth in 2012 with more than 1 million subscribers, mostly in the U.S.
Regarding satellite service findings, remote sensing revenues grew 20 percent mainly due to U.S. government spending, according to the report. Mobile satellite services grew 3 percent and fixed satellite services grew 4 percent in 2012.