When thinking about investing in the commercial aerospace recovery, it's natural for investors' thoughts to turn to (NYSE: BA). But is it the best way to invest, or is a less well-known aerospace supplier like Carpenter Technology (NYSE: CRS) a better option? I think the answer is the latter. Here's why.

Boeing's medium-term plans, as laid out in its investor day presentation in November 2022, involved raising its delivery rate in the 737 aircraft to between 400 and 450 in 2023 and then to a rate of 50 a month (600 a year) in 2025 and 2026. These metrics are critical to the company's aim of hitting $10 billion in free cash flow in that period -- a figure investors use to value the company.

Unfortunately, Boeing is falling behind that schedule with only 389 deliveries of 737 airplanes in 2023, as it suffered manufacturing quality issues, not least from fuselages supplied by Spirit AeroSystems. Moreover, there are question marks around its delivery rate in 2024 in the aftermath of the blowout of a fuselage panel on an Alaska Air flight in early January.

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Source Fool.com