Is Boeing cutting jet production?
This is becoming a hotter question than: “When will the 787 fly?”
Last night, local analyst Scott Hamilton blogged about a rate cut by one of Boeing’s 737 suppliers. Hamilton read the transcripts from Curtiss-Wright’s earnings call in which the supplier’s CEO says the company plans essentially a 32 percent rate reduction later this year.
As Hamilton points out, Boeing has said it has no plans to reduce production in 2009 but may slow things down by as much as 10 percent in 2010. Curtiss-Wright CEO’s comments suggest otherwise.
I asked Boeing about it this morning.
“Our delivery guidance remains the same: 480 to 485 (jet) deliveries this year,” said Vicki Ray, Boeing spokeswoman. The company has “nothing planned” in terms of slowing down rates later this year.
The Curtiss-Wright CEO “got some numbers mixed up on the call,” Ray said.
Speculation about Boeing’s rates is running especially high in light of its recent layoffs. On Friday, Boeing handed out pink slips to 452 Machinists after previously saying it didn’t plan to reduce its jet production workforce.
Rival Airbus already has announced a rate cut on its A320 from 36 monthly to 34 beginning in October. That’s a 5.5 percent drop.
Boeing is expected to make a decision about next year’s deliveries in May. Will there be a 10 percent drop? 32 percent drop? Higher? Lower?
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