Boeing Co yesterday said it has cut orders to local suppliers as it had to cut back on production of 737 MAX airplanes, but orders could recover once the ban is lifted is lifted and it resumes production.
Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔) estimated earlier this year that it could see a revenue loss of up to NT$100 million (US$3.26 million) due to fewer orders from the US firm for its products, such as doors.
Other Taiwanese suppliers include Drewloong Precision Inc (駐龍), Gloria Material Technology Corp (榮剛) and Magnate Technology Co (晟田), according to Taishin Securities Investment Advisory Co (台新投顧).
Since the 737 MAX aircraft was grounded in March, Boeing has cut its monthly production from 52 airplanes to 42, marketing vice president Randy Tinseth told a news conference in Taipei.
The aircraft was grounded after two crashes in October last year and March.
“But the production continues. Once the aircraft returns to service, our plan is to slowly, but consistently increase the rate over time,” Tinseth said.
The company’s production system is strong, so it can accelerate the production at a later time, he said.
Tinseth reiterated that the company is hoping to receive regulatory approval for the 737 MAX to return to service this quarter, although some of its customers — including United Airlines, American Airlines Group Inc and Southwest Airlines Co — have announced that they are suspending operations of the 737 MAX until January.
“Our customers are just being conservative, as they do not want to disappoint their passengers,” Tinseth said, adding that it might take a few weeks for all the 400 grounded airplanes to return to service.
The company has been working closely with the US Federal Aviation Administration and regulators elsewhere to solve the aircraft’s problems, he added.
Once its production resumes, Boeing would need to review its supply chain and adjust its production schedule, but it is likely that orders to local suppliers would recover, Boeing regional director of communications for the Northeast Asia Kevin Yoo said.
AIDC has kept communicating with the US company and adjusted its manufacturing accordingly, general manager Ma Wan-june (馬萬鈞) said by telephone, adding that he expects the grounding to be lifted soon.
Taiwan’s rapidly aging population is fueling a sharp increase in homes occupied solely by elderly people, a trend that is reshaping the nation’s housing market and social fabric, real-estate brokers said yesterday. About 850,000 residences were occupied by elderly people in the first quarter, including 655,000 that housed only one resident, the Ministry of the Interior said. The figures have nearly doubled from a decade earlier, Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) said, as people aged 65 and older now make up 20.8 percent of the population. “The so-called silver tsunami represents more than just a demographic shift — it could fundamentally redefine the
Businesses across the global semiconductor supply chain are bracing themselves for disruptions from an escalating trade war, after China imposed curbs on rare earth mineral exports and the US responded with additional tariffs and restrictions on software sales to the Asian nation. China’s restrictions, the most targeted move yet to limit supplies of rare earth materials, represent the first major attempt by Beijing to exercise long-arm jurisdiction over foreign companies to target the semiconductor industry, threatening to stall the chips powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. They prompted US President Donald Trump on Friday to announce that he would impose an additional
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) said it expects peak season effects in the fourth quarter to continue to boost demand for passenger flights and cargo services, after reporting its second-highest-ever September sales on Monday. The carrier said it posted NT$15.88 billion (US$517 million) in consolidated sales last month, trailing only September last year’s NT$16.01 billion. Last month, CAL generated NT$8.77 billion from its passenger flights and NT$5.37 billion from cargo services, it said. In the first nine months of this year, the carrier posted NT$154.93 billion in cumulative sales, up 2.62 percent from a year earlier, marking the second-highest level for the January-September
Asian e-commerce giant Shein’s (希音) decision to set up shop in a historic Parisian department store has ruffled feathers in the fashion capital. Anger has been boiling since Shein announced last week that it would open its first permanent physical store next month at BHV Marais, an iconic building that has stood across from Paris City Hall since 1856. The move prompted some French brands to announce they would leave BHV Marais, but the department store had already been losing tenants over late payments. Aime cosmetics line cofounder Mathilde Lacombe, whose brand was among those that decided to leave following