Boeing cuts estimates for 737 MAX deliveries, flags supply-chain constraints

Boeing executives on Wednesday cut estimates for 737 MAX deliveries this year and warned that supply-chain constraints have capped its ability to ramp up jet production despite "significant" demand. The comments on an earnings call underscored challenges the planemaker faces despite a dramatic improvement in cash flow in the quarter through June. Boeing said it aims to stabilize 737 production rate at 31 a month despite nagging supply chain problems. It expects supply issues and uncertainties in Chinawill keep MAX deliveries this year closer to the "low 400s" than an earlier estimate of about 500. "We continue to experience real constraints," Brian West, Boeing's CFO, told investors. West said the company has increased its presence at the facilities of suppliers and set up teams of experts to address supply crunch in a number of areas, including engines, raw materials and semiconductors. Some analysts were not sure if the measures would help fix the production issues. "While the worst is probably behind for Boeing, we still see better, less heart attack-inducing opportunities in the aerospace sector," analysts at Vertical Research Partners wrote in a note after Boeing's earnings call.<br/>