Boeing cuts jetliner-sales forecast 11%

Bloomberg

Boeing sees a turbulent ride ahead for the world’s jetliner market, with sales contracting sharply this decade before eventually rebounding in the 2030s as new models and technologies spur growth.
Boeing released the report days after deciding to consolidate production of its
marquee 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, shutting down a final assembly line at a storied plant in Everett, Washington, to save money. That’s 11% fewer than the company expected a year ago, before the virus sapped demand for travel and new planes.
The outlook underscores the deep slump afflicting global aviation, with years of torrid airline growth giving way to a fight for survival until a vaccine or treatment coaxes more consumers back to the skies. Boeing released the report days after deciding to consolidate production of its marquee 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, shutting down a final assembly line at a storied plant in Everett, Washington, to save money.
“We’re a long way from the bottom, which was mid-April, and it’s a long way back from here to full recovery,” Darren Hulst, Boeing’s vice president of commercial marketing, told reporters in a briefing before the forecast was made public.
The Chicago-based aerospace titan typically releases a 20-year commercial outlook at the industry’s annual mid-summer trade expo, which was cancelled this year.
Boeing also decided to provide a 10-year snapshot to help illuminate a marketplace ravaged by Covid-19. The assumptions underpin the flurry of production rate cuts the company has made this year, as well as a sweeping review of its businesses, overhead, investments and suppliers.