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Exclusive-Boeing delays plans for production ramp-up, sources say
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 jetliner is pictured during a tour of the Boeing 737 assembly plant in Renton. REUTERS/David Ryder/File Photo
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By Valerie Insinna and Tim Hepher
(Reuters) – Boeing (NYSE:) has delayed plans for its supply chain to ramp up production of its bestselling 737 jetliner, according to a presentation seen by Reuters, as the company deals with regulatory curbs on its output and increased scrutiny following a mid-air blowout on a MAX 9 in January.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in late January barred Boeing from increasing production of the 737 MAX following the Jan. 5 accident, and could prove a setback in the future as the U.S. planemaker struggles to raise production levels to compete with its European rival Airbus.
Boeing was not immediately available for comment.
According to Boeing’s latest 737 supplier master schedule seen by Reuters, the supply chain was previously told to inrease production rates from the equivalent of 38 aircaft a month to 42 in February this year which is now delayed to June.
Boeing will push back a rate increase from 47 jets a month from August 2024 to January 2025.
A move to 52 737s per month scheduled for February 2025 is now estimated to take place in June 2025, a timeline that would allow Boeing to stay on track for its goal of producing 50 jets per month in 2025-2026, a critical enabler for achieving $10 billion in free cash flow in the same timeframe.
Boeing won’t hit its pre-pandemic goal of 57 aircraft per month until February 2026, from a previous estimate for August 2025.
The supplier master schedule lays out the expectation for when suppliers should be at a given production rate. While it usually predates Boeing’s own shift to a new rate, it is an important signal of confidence for the supply chain, who rely on it for planning future workforce and equipment investments.
It also comes as Boeing is in talks to buy back its former subsidary Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:), the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, as the Wichita-based company has also dealt with substantial production delays and hits to its balance sheet.
Boeing leaders had indicated the supply chain would keep ramping up according to previous plans issued in December, but acknowledged there could be future changes due to an ongoing FAA audit of Boeing’s production system.
Boeing has said its 737 production line in Renton, Washington, is nominally operating at a rate of 38 jets per month. However, the actual output is lower, as the company has had to periodically pause the line to address quality issues, Chief Financial Officer Brian West said last month.
West said then that maintaining the master schedule from December will force Boeing to carry extra inventory and contribute to a cash usage in the first quarter of 2024, but it would also allow suppliers to stay stable and cut the likelihood of production defects that previously hampered ramp up plans.
Some suppliers had privately questioned whether Boeing would maintain its previous master schedule if the production freeze extended past a couple months, while others raised concerns that small and medium sized businesses could find themselves in financial straits after making costly capital investments in anticipation of higher production.
The FAA has not indicated what criteria Boeing will need to meet to be approved for future production rate increases. Earlier this week, FAA administrator Mike Whitaker told Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun that the company would have 90 days to develop a plan to address quality issues.
Boeing expects to ramp up to an actual production rate of 38 737s a month in the second half of they year, “but it will be dictated by the regulator,” West said last month.
Airbus is producing about 50 single-aisle jets per month, Reuters previously reported, and its CEO said in February the company is on track to reach a key production target of 75 narrowbody jets per month in 2026.
By Maggie Fick and Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team are laying the groundwork for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his second term, according to a health law expert familiar with the discussions.
“I have it on good authority that he plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health (NS:) Law.
The Financial Times was first to report on the plans, citing two experts. The second expert, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, was not immediately available for comment.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The plan, which aligns with Trump’s longstanding criticism of the U.N. health agency, would mark a dramatic shift in U.S. global health policy and further isolate Washington from international efforts to battle pandemics.
Trump has nominated several critics of the organization to top public health positions, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who is up for the post of secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees all major U.S. health agencies including the CDC and FDA.
Trump initiated the year-long withdrawal process from the WHO in 2020 but six months later his successor, President Joe Biden, reversed the decision.
Trump has argued that the agency failed to hold China accountable for the early spread of COVID-19. He has repeatedly called the WHO a puppet of Beijing and vowed to redirect U.S. contributions to domestic health initiatives.
A WHO spokesperson declined to directly comment but referred Reuters to comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Dec. 10 in which he was asked whether he was concerned that the Trump administration would withdraw from the organization.
Tedros said at the time that the WHO needed to give the U.S. time and space for the transition. He also voiced confidence that states could finalize a pandemic agreement by May 2025.
Critics warn that a U.S. withdrawal could undermine global disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
“The U.S. would lose influence and clout in global health and China would fill the vacuum. I can’t imagine a world without a robust WHO. But U.S. withdrawal would severely weaken the agency,” Gostin said.
U.Today – MicroStrategy has made headlines again by purchasing 5,262 BTC for approximately $561 million at an average price of $106,662 per BTC. The company now holds a staggering 444,262 BTC, accumulated at a total cost of approximately $27.7 billion, with an average purchase price of $62,257 per BTC.
Despite impressive returns of 47.4% since the beginning of the quarter and 73.7% since the beginning of the year, skepticism about the company’s strategy is growing.
It is believed that to sustain its purchases, MicroStrategy raises capital through methods such as issuing convertible and corporate bonds, securing credit lines and selling shares.
This cycle appears to operate as follows: shares are sold to acquire the cryptocurrency, and the rising price per BTC increases asset value, enabling further loans, which are then reinvested in more purchases.
Some observers warn that a significant decline in Bitcoin’s price or MicroStrategy’s stock could trigger a cascade effect. A sharp fall in MSTR shares would weaken the collateral backing its loans, potentially leading to forced asset sales, including BTC.
This scenario could exert downward pressure on the broader cryptocurrency market, as the company holds 2.2% of the global Bitcoin supply now.
Thus, while some view Michael Saylor’s approach as a bold bid to cement the cryptocurrency’s role in the financial system, others see it as unsustainable. History offers a cautionary note: in 2000, MSTR shares surged to $333 before plummeting 99%, a collapse that took 24 years to recover from.
National homebuilder ranked No. 12 on inaugural list ranking companies based on trust
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With a longstanding reputation for trust, national homebuilder and land developer Taylor Morrison (NYSE:) (NYSE: ™HC) has been recognized by Forbes on their inaugural list of the Most Trusted Companies in America. The homebuilder ranked No. 12 out of 300 companies across all industries.
“There are few things more powerful than trust and it’s something we strive to earn amongst all company stakeholders, from our customers to our team members, our shareholders, and our local communities,” said Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. “To be included on this esteemed list in its inaugural year is especially meaningful and these awards are important reminders of the relationships we’re building across all aspects of our business.”
Fueled by hundreds of millions of data points, the Most Trusted Companies in America list combines data on a wide range of factors across four categories: employee trust, customer trust, investor trust and media sentiment. The ranking was created in partnership with research companies HundredX, Signal AI and Glassdoor.
Taylor Morrison also earned the No. 67 spot on Forbes’ inaugural America’s Best Companies list. The ranking is Forbes’ most comprehensive company ranking to date and factored in ratings for financial performance, customer and employee satisfaction, cybersecurity, sustainability, companies’ remote work policies, media coverage and more. Forbes’ America’s Best Companies list assessed more than 60 metrics across 11 primary categories to identify which organizations excel across the board. Of the more than 2,000 U.S.-based publicly traded companies that were eligible, only 300 qualified for each list.
In addition to being named among the Most Trusted and Best Companies in America by Forbes, Taylor Morrison holds several additional accolades including being named on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies and America’s Greenest Companies lists, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For list, the American Opportunity (SO:) Index, America’s Most Trusted ® Home Builder for nine years, Hearthstone’s 2021 BUILDER Humanitarian Award, and inclusion on the Fortune 500 list since 2021.
About Taylor Morrison
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation’s leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brands”including Taylor Morrison, Esplanade and Yardly. From 2016-2024, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America’s Most Trusted ® Builder by Lifestory Research. Our long-standing commitment to sustainable operations is highlighted in our annual Sustainability and Belonging Report.
For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.
CONTACT:
media@taylormorrison.com
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