Boeing Sets Annual Delivery Record, Has Backlog Of Nearly 900 Orders

Boeing Co BA went full throttle on airplane deliveries in 2018. 

The aircraft manufacturer said Tuesday it delivered more than 800 new planes during the year — beating its previous record for the most jet deliveries for a year while continuing to book new orders to grow its backlog of planes on order.

The 806 planes delivered by Boeing Commercial beat a previous record of 763 jets sent to buyers in 2017.

The runway for future production looks long, as the Chicago-based manufacturer is reporting 893 net orders for the year, including 203 sales alone in a robust December.

It was the 11th straight year of increased production for the jet maker, which came in just shy of its 2018 delivery target of 810-815 planes. The shortfall didn’t appear to worry investors, as the stock was trading higher by more than 3 percent Tuesday. 

Boeing said strong worldwide jet demand led it to increase production of the 737 in mid-2018 to 52 planes per month, and its production rate for the twin-aisle 787 Dreamliner — of which it turned out 145 — was the highest in the industry.

Deliveries were rounded out by smaller numbers of various 777, 767, and 747-8 models, including sales of 767s to the U.S. Air Force for use as tankers. 

Boeing's order backlog grew for nearly every plane with new purchases during 2018, and the company noted particular strength in larger widebody planes, with 218 twin-aisle planes ordered.

Boeing’s European rival Airbus SE EADSY wasn’t scheduled to announce final delivery figures for the year until Wednesday, but the Financial Times reported that Airbus delivered around 800 aircraft.

Boeing was trading up 3.43 percent at $339.32 at the time of publication Tuesday. 

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