Boeing deliveries slump in 2019 amid MAX crisis

Annual deliveries from aerospace producer Boeing fell by over half in 2019 resulting from the aftermath of the grounding of the B737 MAX.

Boeing delivered 380 commercial aircraft in 2019, down from 806 in 2018. The company had forecast delivering as many as 905 deliveries in 2019 before the B737 MAX was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March following two fatal crashes of the aircraft.

The loss of MAX deliveries puts Boeing's numbers well below competitor Airbus' 863. This is the first time Airbus has surpassed Boeing's to be the largest aerospace supplier in eight years.

Fourth quarter deliveries of B737s fell by 95pc to nine aircraft. Boeing planned to suspend production of the B737 MAX in January in order to await recertification by the FAA. The company has about 400 MAX aircraft in storage, ready for delivery once the ban is lifted. Congressional hearings in December cast doubt on a timeline for the MAX recertification.

Deliveries of the B787 rose to 45 aircraft from 39 in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. B777 deliveries edged up to 12 from 11, while B747s rose to two from one in the prior year fourth quarter.

Deliveries of its B767 model fell to 11 from 14 the prior year period.

Total military aircraft deliveries increased to 57 from 32, reflecting higher AH-64 Apache and KC-46 levels.

By Zach Schumacher