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Boeing reports 142 net orders for 2009

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Boeing reports 142 net orders for 2009
Boeing Co. said on Jan. 7, 2010 its customers ordered just 142 commercial airplanes last year as the recession forced airlines to shrink.


January 8, 2010  By Melissa Damota

Jan. 8, 2010 – Boeing Co. said Thursday its customers ordered just 142 commercial airplanes last year as the recession forced airlines to shrink.

The net total is Boeing's lowest since at least 2003 and just one-tenth of the 1,413 orders in 2007.

Meanwhile, Boeing delivered 481 commercial planes last year, up 28 per cent after an eight-week strike by Seattle-area production workers in 2008 slowed production.

Boeing had predicted 480 to 485 deliveries for the year.

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The deliveries were "a solid achievement," wrote Jefferies&Co. analyst Howard A. Rubel, an achievement he said was not adequately valued by investors.

Rubel said Boeing delivered four more widebodies than he had expected and three fewer 737s. By delivering more of the higher-priced widebodies, as well as setting an annual record by delivering 88 of its 777s, "the results were a slightly richer mix than we had expected.''

The biggest seller was Boeing's workhorse 737. The company delivered 372 of those last year, and has orders for another 2,076.

Boeing's total backlog for all commercial aircraft is 3,375 planes.

The big issue for Boeing has been its 787, a new widebody long-range jet that flew for the first time last month _ more than two years late. Boeing got through December without any additional
787 cancellations, and finished the year with 83 net cancellations. Boeing said it has orders for 851 of the planes, and it expects to begin deliveries by the end of this year.

The company expects to provide commercial airplane delivery guidance for 2010 on Jan. 27, when it reports fourth-quarter financial results.

Competitor Airbus will report its 2009 orders and deliveries on Tuesday. Through the end of November it had 194 net orders and 437 deliveries. That included 4 of its new A380 superjumbo jets and 22 of its widebody A350s. Like Boeing, the bulk of its orders came from smaller single-aisle planes.

Boeing shares rose US$2.42, or 4.1 per cent, to close at $62.20, having reached a new 52-week high of $62.31 earlier in the session.

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