Supply Chain Problems Further Slow Boeing Deliveries

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The pace of Boeing jet deliveries, already slowed by lack of access to the Chinese market, is being hit by supply chain glitches. Some airplanes cannot be completed for want of items as small as a roll of tape.

Boeing said Tuesday it delivered just 22 airplanes last month and won 32 net orders.

The plane manufacturer delivered 20 narrowbody 737 MAXs from its Renton assembly plant in February, including the 50th delivery of a MAX to Ireland's Ryanair. In addition, Boeing delivered two widebody freighters from its Everett plant: a 747-8F for UPS and a 777F for DHL.



There were no deliveries of the 767 in its military tanker or freighter models, and also none for the 787 passenger jet. Boeing still awaits approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for fixes to a series of manufacturing defects on the 787.

Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said last month on the quarterly earnings call the company is building MAXs at a rate of 27 jets per month. In addition to the newly built jets, it aims each month to clear out batches of the 335 formerly grounded MAXs still parked since the airplane was allowed to return to service.

Yet, despite the expectation that some previously parked jets might be delivered in addition to those being built each month, the rate of deliveries remains much lower than the production rate cited by West.