Supply chain disruptions were a key theme of first-quarter 2022 earnings reports, and few places in aerospace manufacturing better illustrate the crunch than Tier 1. There, companies such as Spirit AeroSystems face pressure from their OEM customers to perform-as well as live with their vagaries-while managing the distress below in Tiers 2 and 3.For Wichita-based Spirit, the crunch equals real red ink; cash burn this year could be $175-225 million compared with prior breakeven expectations. In early May, the company acknowledged intense supply chain problems along with a slower-than-expected pickup in work for Boeing, which is suffering ongoing 737 MAX and 787 production issues. What is Spirit doing in response? The answer is a lot, on its own and with the help of others. Amazingly, if they are successful-which managers expect to be-supply chain disruptions may not be as big a deal as other challenges outside Spirit's control.
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