Speaking of
aerospace supply chains -- which we have been doing recently, apropos of Boeing Co.'s (NYSE:BA) attempts to get production of the 787 Dreamliner back on track -- here's a telling development.
According to a Bloomberg report, aircraft maker Saab AG is willing to make Brazil the
manufacturing center for its Gripen fighter jet in order to improve its chances of getting a $1.8 billion order for the planes there.
As we've been pointing out, despite the production problems created by Boeing's distributed supply chain model for the 787, the marketing logic for doing things that way is hard to escape. The fastest-growing markets want to develop their own industries, and they use their leverage accordingly. Nothing new here, of course, or unique to aerospace -- we've seen it around the world (especially in Asia, starting with Japan), and in industries from cars to chemicals.
But it's reasonable to ask if the global recession and recovery -- with developed-world companies looking more and more to developing economies for growth -- might accelerate the trend. -
Kenneth Klee
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Juergen Lasowski
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