UBS: Helicopter Inventory in High Hover

Inventories of used turbine helicopters have been building since the middle of last year “but now appear to be stabilizing, albeit at record-high levels,” UBS Investment Research noted in its first turbine helicopter inventory report. According to UBS aerospace/aviation analyst David Strauss, about 1,010 helicopters were on the market at the end of June, including 974 used models and 36 new delivery positions. This number was roughly unchanged from May, but more than double prior-year levels. Despite high inventory levels, pricing has held up relatively well in most models, UBS said, with larger civil helicopter models such as the S-92 and Super Puma faring better than small and midsize models.