Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for members of the commercial aerospace supply chain, along comes a strike and work stoppage at Boeing on all commercial aircraft, except for the B787, which is manufactured in Charleston, South Carolina (a location not directly affected by the strike).

The tale of woe began with the grounding of the B737MAX, then was taken to an entirely new level by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the industry effectively shut down for a year or more, and was exacerbated further by quality and manufacturing issues that limited production on both the B737 and B787 aircraft. And, over the past two years, record inflation has decimated many income statements due to soaring expenses for energy, materials, labor, interest, and insurance.  Now, on top of all of that, vendors have to try and grapple with what appears to be an extended work stoppage where Boeing has issued “stop-ship” orders for much of the supply chain.

How much stress can a balance sheet take?  For those companies that made it through the previous volatility, many have seen their balance sheets' health deteriorate. As a result, one has to wonder how quickly the wave of insolvencies will take place.