Industry insiders claim that Airbus (AIR.PA) shipments rose 6% in the first half of the year to reach 316 airplanes. Airbus delivered 72 planes in June, up 20% from 60 in the same month last year and up from 63 in May of this year, sources added.
Airbus, which aims for 720 deliveries for the year, declined to comment before publishing the data on Friday.
Airbus's performance in the first six months compares to 297 plane deliveries industrially in the first half of last year, before a two-unit negative adjustment associated with Russia.
Aerospace shipments have been hampered by supply chain issues and labour shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic. But after a shaky start to the year, Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer told Reuters in June that Airbus was seeing a "more predictable" industrial pattern and what seemed like the beginning of a more positive trend in shipments.
According to Jefferies' monitoring of test flights in a report this week, underlying plane production remained soft compared to targeted rates but looked set to increase this summer. It predicted 70 deliveries for June.
