Supply chain trouble drags on deliveries as Embraer loses $41m in Q3

Supply chain trouble and a shortage of pilots in the US are holding back Embraer’s aircraft deliveries, though executives insist the company will still hit its 2022 shipment targets. “We are still suffering from the supply chain a lot, especially for engines”, Embraer chief executive Francisco Gomes Neto says on 14 November. He also cites shortages of aircraft-interior components. Gomes Neto spoke the day Embraer reported a $41m loss in Q3 2022 – a slight improvement from its $46m loss in the same period of 2021. The company generated $929m in Q3 revenue, down 3% year on year. Citing supply chain issues and a pilot shortage, executives say Embraer will likely close 2022 having delivered about 60 of its E-Jet commercial aircraft. That figure is still within its previously disclosed 2022 forecast of 60-70 E-Jet shipments this year. Likewise, Embraer now expects in 2022 to deliver about 100 business aircraft – also on the floor of its 100-110-aircraft guidance. Gomes Neto says supply chain issues are “still ongoing” and have forced Embraer to make recent changes to its production schedule. He expects Embraer will remain constrained by component shortages throughout 2023, with improvement in the second half of next year. “The situation will normalise completely only in 2024,” Gomes Neto predicts. Embraer is not alone; companies throughout the aerospace industry have seen production hampered in recent quarters by parts shortages. Embraer’s E-Jets E2 are powered by PW1900G geared turbofans made by Pratt & Whitney, which also produces, in much higher volumes, PW1100Gs for Airbus A320neo-family jets.<br/>