Shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) rose slightly Wednesday morning after the company upped its 20-year forecast for new plane deliveries to China.
The airplane producer said it expects that Chinese airlines will need 8,560 new commercial planes through 2042, up from 8,485 in its forecast last year.
All told, Boeing expects China's fleet of jets to double in size to more than 9,600 over the next two decades and become the largest aviation market in the world. Such a fleet would require $675 billion in aviation services such as maintenance, repair, training and spare parts over the forecast period.
"Domestic air traffic in China has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels and international traffic is recovering steadily," Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president for commercial marketing, said in a statement.
However, Boeing has yet to resume deliveries of 737 MSX planes to China after they were halted four years ago following a pair of deadly crashes in 2017.
Boeing stock climbed 0.3% to $204.99.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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