BOEING 737 MAX GROUNDING CONTRIBUTES TO ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

Middle Market business owners are being inundated with news about the Coronavirus and its impending financial impact. However, business leaders have said that the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX (first grounded nearly a year ago) will have a much bigger impact on the economy in the first quarter than the Coronavirus outbreak. Once thought to be a short shutdown of maybe 2-3 weeks is nearing a full year. It is estimated that US economic growth will be less than three percent in the first quarter of 2020 due in some part to the Boeing 737 MAX crisis.  

The MAX’s return to US flight schedules isn’t expected to happen until August at the earliest, and new production of the planes will start very slowly. Add this to the already reduced flight schedules airlines are experiencing and Middle Market businesses may feel the impact of an extended slowdown. It is important to examine exactly how slow economic growth and the shutdown will impact your business.