GE Aerospace says shortages involve over a dozen suppliers

General Electric Co. said more than a dozen suppliers are involved in the disruptions that have slowed delivery of its jet engines and resulted in renewed headaches for planemakers and airlines. “The shortages that cause us to be late on deliveries really come from about 15 different suppliers across our supply chain,” Larry Culp, CEO of the manufacturer known as GE Aerospace, said in an exclusive interview on Monday. “We have 550 engineers going in to work with those suppliers to identify bottlenecks, identify constraints and really solve those problems.” “Really for us it is all about making sure we’re the best possible partner, the best possible collaborator with our suppliers,” he said. Globally, airlines’ near-term expansion has been thrown off course as the world’s two key planemakers — Boeing Co. and Airbus SE — struggle to keep pace with record demand for new jets. One of the main reasons the duo can’t raise output has to do with component shortfalls. Staffing is also an issue, particularly for Boeing, whose ongoing labor strike in the US means it can’t produce its cash-cow 737 Max. Culp, speaking to Bloomberg TV from Singapore, wouldn’t be drawn on the time required to fix supply chain issues, noting that “not many people appreciate that what we do is not only manufacture engines, but we support those engines for 20, sometimes 30 years over their entire life cycle.” “So the services, the parts, the repairs that we provide in the after-market are a critical part of what we do for the airlines. And we all need to make sure that there are no counterfeit parts in that supply chain,” he said, adding that tackling the scourge of fake parts was a “high priority.”<br/>