Why Airplane Stocks, Both Military and Civilian, Are Down Today

Air travel is collapsing in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and the U.S. economy is staring down the barrel of a new Great Recession.

Nowhere is this being felt more painfully than in the airplane industry. Already, Delta has cut its flight schedule by 40% and United Airlines by 50%. American Airlines cut international flights by 75%. Fewer flights logically implies fewer planes that need to be bought, and airplane manufacturers are feeling the pinch.  

Today, shares of Boeing (NYSE: BA) were down 2.7% as of 1:20 p.m. EDT after falling more than 11% initially. Textron (NYSE: TXT), maker of Cessna prop-driven planes, is down 10.2%. Even defense giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), which primarily manufactures airplanes for the military (but has a small civilian division, too), is off 4.9%.

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Source Fool.com