Boeing warns US-China spat raises new risk for 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliners once praised as “beautiful” by US President Donald Trump could become a casualty of his escalating trade war with China. The sparring between the two economic super-powers has injected new uncertainty into Boeing’s wide-body production and deliveries, particularly for jets like the 787 Dreamliner and the larger 777 that are popular with Chinese airlines, said Dennis Muilenburg, the planemaker’s CEO. “We’re still hopeful that a trade deal will be accomplished and that airplanes will be part of that,” Muilenburg said Wednesday at a Morgan Stanley conference. “But a lack of a trade deal does add risk to our wide-body skyline. So we’re paying close attention.” The carbon-fiber Dreamliner, Boeing’s most-advanced jetliner, is a critical source of cash as the manufacturer works with regulators to lift a grounding of the highly profitable 737 Max. But analysts wonder how long the Chicago-based company will be able to keep making 14 Dreamliners a month -- a record pace for twin-aisle jets -- as the 787’s order backlog dwindles amid waning wide-body demand. Boeing still has a few unfilled delivery slots for the 787 over the next two years and more openings in 2022, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in a Sept. 10 report. “Without an acceleration in order activity, we estimate rate could be cut in 2022 with a potential announcement in late 2020/early 2021,” she wrote. Muilenburg acknowledged that maintaining the current Dreamliner pace is “a risk area for us,” since Chinese orders figured into Boeing’s sales forecasts. About 17% of Dreamliner deliveries to date have gone to the People’s Republic, Kahyaoglu said.<br/>