Afp
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, December 3, 2024, p. 22
Stockholm. Sales of the world’s top arms suppliers were boosted in 2023 by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and tensions in Asia, while manufacturers based in Russia and the Middle East recorded sharp increases, according to a published report. yesterday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
Sales of weapons and services for military use by the 100 largest companies in the global arms industry registered an increase of 4.2 percent in 2023 and totaled 632 billion dollars.
Defense industry revenue fell in 2022 as manufacturers were unable to cope with demand, but many suppliers managed to ramp up production in 2023, the report said.
For the first time, each of the 100 companies on this list surpassed the $1 billion mark in sales last year.
A notable increase in revenue from arms sales occurred in 2023 and this is likely to continue in 2024said Lorenzo Scarazzato, Sipri researcher.
Smaller producers managed to be more effective in meeting demand linked to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, growing tensions in East Asia and rearmament programs in other regions, Sipri highlighted.
Instead, the two main players in the market recorded a drop in revenue; in the case of Lockheed Martin, 1.6 percent and in the RTX, 1.3 percent.
In the global panorama of this industry, American companies stand out (41), which registered an increase in sales of 2.5 percent last year, and which together account for half of the global income of this market.
Chinese companies increased their income by 0.7 percent, in line with the context of slowdown of the economy local, but its sales remained above the level of 103 billion dollars.
