Boeing Co reported its worst annual net orders in decades on Tuesday, along with its lowest numbers for plane deliveries in 11 years, as the grounding of its 737 MAX jet saw it fall far behind main competitor Airbus.
After an accounting adjustment representing jets ordered in previous years but are now unlikely to be delivered, Boeing said its net total for orders this year sank to a negative 87 airplanes.
As a result, Boeing’s book-to-bill ratio, which measures orders against deliveries, came in at a negative 0.23 in 2019.
Boeing said unidentified customers canceled orders for three 787-9s in December and another customer canceled an order for a 787-8.
Ten months after the MAX was grounded in March following two fatal crashes, Boeing still has a backlog of more than 5 400 orders for its long- and short-distance commercial jets.
By comparison, Airbus said earlier this month it racked up a net 768 orders last year after cancellations and delivered a record 863 planes.
The aviation industry is seeing a slowdown in orders, as fears of an economic downturn linger and global economies slow amid an ongoing US-China trade war.
