Weapons trade booms as profits hit record $531bn in 2020
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sales of weapons and military services by the world’s 100 biggest arms companies reached a record $531bn in 2020, an increase of 1.3 per cent in real terms compared with the previous year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The Swedish think tank said 2020 marked the sixth consecutive year of sales growth by the top 100 firms, and came even as the global economy shrank. Overall sales were 17 percent higher than in 2015 when it first included data on Chinese firms.
“The industry giants were largely shielded by sustained government demand for military goods and services,” Alexandra Marksteiner, researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said in a statement on Monday. “In much of the world, military spending grew and some governments even accelerated payments to the arms industry in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.”
Firms in the United States continue to dominate the industry, with total sales of $285bn from 41 companies accounting for about 54 percent of all arms sales among the 100 biggest companies. The top five companies in the ranking since 2018 have all been based in the US, SIPRI said.
Arms sales from the top Chinese firms amounted to an estimated $66.8bn in 2020, 1.5 percent more than in 2019.
Chinese firms accounted for 13 percent of the Top 100 arms sales’ total, ahead of the United Kingdom, which had the third-largest share.
“In recent years, Chinese arms companies have benefited from the country’s military modernization programmes and focus on military-civil fusion ,” said Nan Tian, SIPRI senior researcher. “They have become some of the most advanced military technology producers in the world.”
The 26 European arms companies in the Top 100 jointly accounted for 21 percent of total arms sales, or $109bn, the think tank said.
The seven UK companies recorded arms sales of $37.5bn in 2020, up by 6.2 percent compared with 2019. Arms sales by BAE Systems – the sole European firm in the top 10 – increased by 6.6 percent to $24bn.
Sales by French companies, meanwhile, declined by 7.7 percent amid a drop in deliveries of Rafale fighter aircraft by Dassault, according to the think tank.
Weapons manufacturer Thales also saw sales drop 5.8 percent, which it blamed on pandemic-induced disruptions. Other companies also reported supply chain disruptions and delayed deliveries.
Russian arms sales, meanwhile, dropped for the third year in a row, SIPRI said.
Total sales of the nine Russian companies ranked in the Top 100 decreased from $28.2bn in 2019 to $26.4bn in 2020, with Russian firms accounting for 5 percent of Top 100 arms sales’ total.
Other countries with weapons firms in the Top 100 included Israel, Japan, India and South Korea. Sales at the four South Korean firms grew 4.6 percent from 2019 to $6.5bn, the think tank said.
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Adding to this sticky mess Canada has unleashed its horde of maple syrup upon the unsuspecting minions of mine is bigger than yours.
So we can expect the price of maple syrup to come down then? It would be the only thing that is.
Or has Canada come up with some new maple syrup traps that it has strategically placed throughout the country to ward off any possible invaders? With the next question being are the bears, moose, and other animals that will be enticed in part of the trap as well?
[Deleted]
There are not enough of those wackos to sustain any large trade.
Now, if you want a real deal we will send you every last illegal immigrant in this country; and you send us all the maple syrup we want. Illegal immigrants are an untapped resource for us; and it is about time we put it to use. Canada will get the population influx it desperately needs; and we get cheap maple syrup- I am sure that the federal government can reclassify it as a fruit; they classified Ketchup as vegetable so we should be good to go. School children across the US will get the sugar buzz their teachers dread; and doses of Ritalin and Adderall will have to be upped. So it will be another win for the drug companies.
Sorry about the financial drain the illegals will cause. Unintended side affect I suppose. The extra manure that is produced could be used as fertilizer; after proper processing of course.
Skirting the CoC [sandy-2021492]
Nonsense, I am reposting it:
Not as long as your fellow wackos are buy[ing] ziploc bags of our BOO dirt.
I think the mod took it as you claiming I am a wacko "your fellow wackos". Were as I simply took it as you calling all Americans wackos- which to some degree we are. Of course we consider Canadians wacko- so we are all in good company.
Likely.
Now back to those 'illegals', as long as they can cook and especially Mexican cuisine, send them all.
A weak US internationally; and proxy wars across the planet are fueling arms sales. Guess there are some things that a global pandemic cannot slow down. Unless you are the French that is.
Or the Russians. Guess cheap, cut rate, military weapons aren't as popular as they used to be. Countries want smaller, better equipped, and trained fighting forces.
The US increased its global share of arms exports to 37% from 2016-2020. 47% of our arms exports went to the Middle East, with 24% of our total sales going to Saudi Arabia. We sold arms to 96 states around the world.
This is one of our few internationally successful industrial sectors.
war is a very lucrative business. ask any republican.
duck, incoming whatabouts...
Looks like some people are in a hurry for Armageddon