Boeing Sees Max, Other Narrow-Bodies Driving $16 Trillion Market

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. sees the market for new commercial jet purchases and related services approaching $16 trillion over the next two decades, fueled by steady growth in the Asia-Pacific region and a boom in low-cost airlines.

The total includes $6.8 trillion for new and replacement planes, the Chicago-based planemaker said Monday in its annual market outlook. Airlines will need 44,040 passenger jets, primarily narrow-body models, about 1,300 more than Boeing projected last year.

“Notwithstanding some recent moderation in passenger and cargo traffic growth, all indications are pointing to our industry sustaining its unprecedented streak of profitable expansion,’’ Randy Tinseth, a Boeing vice president for commercial marketing, said in a statement.

Boeing maintained a bullish outlook amid a decade of supercharged aerospace growth, even as global trade tensions rise and the company struggles with a crisis of confidence in its top-selling model, the 737 Max. The jet has been grounded worldwide since March 13, after a pair of crashes within five months killed 346 people.

But in the long term, the U.S. manufacturer projects that economic expansion in emerging markets will drive continued demand for air travel.

Single-aisle jetliners, the category that includes the 737 Max and Airbus SE’s A320 family, will continue to drive most of the demand. Boeing expects carriers to order 32,420 such narrow-bodies through 2038, d at $3.78 trillion. Carriers also will need 8,340 wide-body planes, worth $2.65 trillion, according to the forecast, which is derived from a mix of economic and airline-user data.

The projection underscores the need for Boeing to get the Max back in the air. Boeing has halted deliveries and slowed production rates for the plane but said it expects the Max to resume service this year.

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