Boeing logged negative order activity in June due to moving orders for 116 aircraft out of its backlog and into a special accounting bucket reserved for deals the company suspects may not actually close.
On the bright side, Boeing last month landed new orders for 14 jets, including for 11 777 Freighters, and delivered more aircraft than in any month this year, the company said on 9 July.
Exactly why Boeing shifted the 116 aircraft orders –which included deals for 114 737s and two 777s – from its backlog into the accounting bucket called ASC-606 remains unclear.
However, Boeing typically places orders within the bucket when circumstances (such as a buyer’s financial condition or intention to cancel orders) make the deals less than iron clad. Boeing notes that orders within ASC-606 remain under firm contracts.
Boeing also last month lost two orders to cancellations, with Aerolineas Argentinas nixing a deal for one 737 Max and Air Europa cancelling an order for a single 787-9.
The 14 new orders Boeing landed last month included three 737 Max, among them one jet ordered by Alaska Airlines and two ordered by an unidentified customer.
The remaining 11 orders were all 777F deals: Turkish Airlines ordered four of the widebodies, an undisclosed customer ordered five and Boeing attributed two orders to its Internal Boeing Commercial Airplanes Customer Finance business, saying those jets will be placed with a customer that “will eventually purchase them”.
The orders cancellations and accounting adjustments in June left Boeing with -104 orders for the month, reversing recent gains and leaving it with only 26 net new orders for the year.
Boeing did, however, ramp deliveries last month, handing over 44 aircraft, up from 24 in May and more than in any month since December 2023.
The deliveries included one 737NG-based P-8 military surveillance jet delivered internally to Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), and 34 737 Max delivered to 17 customers.
Boeing also delivered one 767-based KC-46 tanker to BDS, five 777Fs and three 787s, it says.
The company has been seeking to accelerate deliveries and production following a slowdown precipitated by the 5 January in-flight failure of a 737 Max 9’s door plug. Boeing responded to that event by slowing production and ramping up inspections.
The company ended June with 5,477 jets in its backlog, down from 5,625 one month prior. The backlog includes 4,173 737s, 95 767s, 493 777s and 716 787s.
