Strike leads to 15% drop in Boeing's 2008 deliveries


Last fall, Boeing's 27,000 machinists went on strike for 52 days. Not surprisingly, this put a crimp in Boeing's ability to meet its production schedule. Until today, it was hard to know just how much damage that strike did. Now we know that Boeing's 2008 aircraft deliveries dropped 15% thanks to the strike. But big questions remain for investors.

The numbers are not pretty. Boeing delivered 375 commercial planes in 2008, 15% fewer than the 441 it delivered in 2007. Prior to the strike, in early 2008, expectations for the year ranged from 475 to 480. But Boeing fell far short. Boeing finished 2008 with 662 commercial airplane orders, bringing its total backlog of unfilled orders to over 3,700. But the 2008 figure was less than half 2007's record order amount.

Meanwhile, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner -- which accounts for 900 aircraft in that backlog -- is about two years behind schedule. The 787's delays are taking engineers away from other projects, such as the one to update its 747 jumbo jet, which has now been delayed nine months. Despite all this bad news, we still don't know how much these delays will cost Boeing in lost revenues and profits. And it remains to be seen whether the fourth 787 production delay will be its last.



Boeing stock trades at a P/E of 8 yet its 2009 earnings are forecast to grow 30%. Either the stock is a screaming buy at current levels or that 2009 forecast is going to take a big hit.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. Portfolio published his eighth book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons From Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing on December 26, 2008. He has no financial interest in Boeing securities.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 13, 2012: 02:38 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    WalletPop Headlines

    DailyFinance BlackBerry App

    My Portfolios

    Track your stocks here!

    Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

    BloggingStocks Partners

    More from AOL Money & Finance

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    Page Loaded in 1329118687813 ms.