NEW YORK – Boeing Co. (BA) deliveries of commercial aircraft slumped to a ten-year low in its strike-hindered third quarter, the No. 1 U.S. aerospace company said on Tuesday.
Third-quarter deliveries to airlines and lessors, at 62, were down by 23 from the second quarter and by 5 from the year-earlier period. The previous low quarter was the third quarter of 1995, when it was also 62.
A nearly month-long walkout by 18,500 workers at Boeing's plants in the states of Washington, Oregon and Kansas ended last week and analysts have said they are hopeful the company will be able to make up for the lost deliveries in September.
Boeing's deliveries for the year through September stood at 217, behind the 271 total reported on Tuesday by European archrival Airbus (search).
UBS analyst David Strauss said in a research note that he believed Boeing could make up the deferred deliveries in the fourth quarter and was leaving his forecast for full-year deliveries unchanged at 320.
Boeing's most popular airplane by far remained the 737 Next Generation, a jet favored by low cost carriers. It accounted for 47 deliveries in the three-month period.
Boeing shares closed up 81 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $67.95 on the New York Stock Exchange, outperforming a flat Amex Defense index. Earlier, Boeing shares touched their highest intraday level since May 2001.
Boeing also said its top-selling military aircraft in the quarter was the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter, of which 11 were delivered.
Separately, Boeing said India's top domestic airline Jet Airways Ltd. (search) had confirmed an order announced during the Paris Air Show for 10 777-300ER widebody planes.
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