Boeing reported Tuesday its orders in January fell to the lowest level since September, amid groundings and delays tied to the Jan. 5 blowout of a fuselage component on an Alaska Airlines jet. Boeing stock, the lone aerospace name on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, traded lower near midday.
Arlington, Va. based Boeing reported 27 aircraft delivered in January. Of those, 25 were 737 MAX models. The company booked three orders for new 737 Max units, and took three 737 cancellations.
The numbers were essentially in line with analyst estimates. They followed a big month in December, during which Boeing took orders for 371 aircraft.
Alaska Air's deft avoidance of what could've been a disaster led to yet another a shake-up on the factory floors at Boeing. 2022 was a year of quality mishaps that rattled Boeing's relationship to fuselage and cockpit components supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
Production Hikes Paused
Boeing determined that it was responsible for missing or incorrectly installed bolts that led to the Jan. 5 incident. The National Transportation Safety Board echoed the finding that Boeing was responsible for missing bolts, and also determined that Spirit had in some cases improperly drilled holes.
The Federal Aviation Administration moved to halt planned production increases at Boeing until it was "satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved."
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told CNBC in January that the agency would keep "boots on the ground" in monitoring Boeing's production, including factory-floor inspections.
In the company's Jan. 31 Q4 conference call, CEO Dave Calhoun said, "I'm sort of glad they called out a pause because that's a good excuse to just take our time, do it right."
Boeing Stock Leans Toward Recent Lows
Boeing stock traded nearly 2% lower near midday Tuesday. Shares were about 3% above a Jan. 25 low, and down 23% from A December high.
Shares of Spirit slumped 1.9%. The stock has been climbing from lows, shaping the right side of an eight-week cup base.
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