Boeing’s 737 Max delivery pace slowed in April but the company made up the difference by delivering more widebody jets than in previous months this year.
The manufacturer handed over 45 aircraft last month, up slightly from its March deliveries but otherwise roughly on par with its pace this year.
The April deliveries included 30 737s, among them 29 737 Max and one 737NG-based P-8 military surveillance jet.
This is the fewest 737s Boeing has delivered in any month so far this year. But Boeing’s delivery pace had been upset in April as US-China trade relations soured, with the countries each slapping import duties of more than 100% on the other’s products.
Amid that tension, Chinese customers stopped receiving at least some Boeing jets, according to reports. US-China trade relations have substantially improved in recent days, with the countries agreeing to slash the duties to as little as 10%.
Boeing did not respond to questions about the state of deliveries to China.
While Boeing’s 737 handovers declined last month, the company managed to deliver 15 widebody jets in April, up from just eight such deliveries in March.
The April deliveries included eight 787s, four 777s and three 767s.
Boeing also received orders for eight new aircraft in April, all of them 737 Max and all attributed to an unidentified customer or customers. Additionally, the company in April shifted 32 orders out of its ‘ASC-606’ accounting bucket and into its backlog.
The ASC-606 bucket houses orders that Boeing suspects will not actually result in sales due to reasons that can include geopolitical tensions and the financial condition of the buyers. Shifting orders from ASC-606 into the backlog means Boeing expects to sell those aircraft.
The US manufacturer did not report any order cancellations last month.
April’s activity left Boeing with 5,643 aircraft in its backlog, slightly down from 5,648 at the end of March. The backlog includes 4,287 737s, 101 767s, 496 777s and 759 787s.
