The Boeing Co received 194 fewer jet orders in the first half of 2001 than it did during the same time period last year, a spokesman from the Chicago-based company said on Friday.
Boeing took orders for 175 new airplanes, but 48 were canceled, leaving a net of 127 for the first half of the year.
Spokesman Bob Saling said the 2001 numbers appear low because last year's numbers were so good.
"We knew that orders were going to be down this year," Saling said.
Boeing took 611 orders last year, with 321 orders through the first six months of 2000.
The company still expects to receive about 400 new orders this year and to outpace Airbus Industrie's order totals. Through May, Airbus had received 144 orders. European-based Airbus, an aerospace consortium, is Boeing's biggest competitor.
Boeing's best-selling model, the single-aisle 737, drew 75 orders.
There were 24 orders for the twin-aisle 767. Calls for the high-capacity 747 and the twin-engine 777 made up the remaining orders.
The sales mean Boeing will be at full capacity through the end of this year, Commercial Airplanes Group Chief Executive Alan Mulally said last week. Boeing's already sold 80 percent of the planes it is capable of building in 2002, he said.
Boeing is lagging behind the pace needed to sell 400 planes this year, but Saling said that's no reason to worry.
Deliveries are more important than orders because Boeing gets the bulk of its money when planes are delivered, Boeing officials said.
Total deliveries for the first six months were not available Friday. But through the end of May, Boeing had delivered 211 planes -- 17 more than the same period last year, which included a 40-day strike by engineers.
RSS