Boeing no longer world’s largest aerospace and defense firm
The Boeing Co.’s largest competitor, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., surpassed Boeing in annual revenue in 2008, according to a Deloitte study on the aerospace industry published earlier this month. EADS and Boeing logos
Though European companies grew faster than U.S. firms, the U.S. firms had higher operating margins, the report said. European companies are having “difficulty in cutting labor costs and rationalizing facilities for the industry in countries where there is higher government intervention and job protection schemes,” wrote Tom Captain, an aerospace and defense consultant at Deloitte LLP.
The study points out that EADS edged out Boeing for the title of world’s largest aerospace and defense firm. But EADS’ title may be short lived after the recession-induced aviation slump and costs related to its A400M military transport project take their toll. (Learn more from WSJ’s Matthew Curtin.)
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