CHICAGO (AP) — Boeing Co. on Wednesday raised its estimate for the number of new planes that the Chinese market will need over the next 20 years.
Boeing said it expects China will need 5,000 new commercial planes worth $600 million over the next 20 years. Last year it predicted that China would need 4,330 new planes valued at $480 billion over the 20-year period starting in 2010.
The projection is a regional slice of the worldwide estimate Boeing released in June. Boeing studies worldwide aircraft demand and makes the projection every year.
Competition to fill that demand is always intense. Boeing and Airbus are the two main suppliers of commercial planes, but Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. is working on models that would compete with Boeing's workhorse 737 and the Airbus A320.
Boeing predicted that so-called single-aisle planes such as the 737 would account for 3,550 of the planes destined for the Chinese market. Midsized planes such as its new 787 and its 777 are expected to account for another 1,040 deliveries during that period, Boeing said.
Boeing shares rose $2.13, or 3.4 percent, to close at $64.90 on a day when most shares rose.
