Boeing's Global Growth Hinges on Meeting Production Demands

Boeing's latest figures reveal an industrial paradox. The company ended the second quarter with a record backlog of about $715 billion in outstanding orders, including for more than 6,200 commercial aircraft.

This isn't as encouraging as it sounds because Boeing's central problem is not how to sell more planes, but rather how to build the ones it has already promised - a task that has become more daunting than ever.

The geography of aviation is changing, with much of the growth on which Boeing's commercial future depends coming from outside the US. India, in particular, is a key market, with airlines in the region expected to need nearly 3,300 new aircraft by 2044, representing a growth rate of about 7% per year.

Boeing faces a more demanding version of what might otherwise seem like an enviable problem - meeting the demand for its products. The company has delivered 314 commercial aircraft in the first half of this year, up from 280 in the equivalent period last year, but it still needs to improve its production capacity.