Boeing is on track to be the biggest loser of 2024 in the Dow Jones Index

(Reuters) – American airline Boeing (Reuters)B.A) is on track to be the biggest loser of 2024 in the Dow Jones Index, falling 32% as it bounced from one crisis to another.

Rival Airbus rose more than 11% for the year, and the benchmark S&P 500 gained more than 23% in 2024.

Boeing shares opened the year at $257.50. However, a mid-air cabin panel blowout on Jan. 5 aboard a recently delivered 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines has prompted investigations and a temporary grounding of the popular single-aisle plane.

At the end of the month, the US Federal Aviation Administration, citing safety and quality issues, limited production of the 737 to 38 aircraft per month and the stock price of the company has cleared around $211.

The FAA did not raise its head. Regardless, Boeing has struggled to produce close to its maximum allowed 737 planes per month due to supply-chain issues, quality issues and a seven-week strike that temporarily shut down most of its commercial jet production, including the 737 program.

Boeing also continued to post massive losses from its commercial, military and space programs throughout the year. In July, the company announced a $4.7 billion deal to buy money-losing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which makes 737 fuselages. The spirit has also been affected by production quality issues.

In August, aerospace veteran Kelly Ortberg joined Boeing as CEO, replacing Dave Calhoun.

Ortberg’s honeymoon period ended in early September, when about 33,000 production workers went on strike over a contract dispute that dragged into November, when the company’s stock hit $137.07 . During the strike, Ortberg announced plans to cut Boeing’s workforce by 10% and that the company expected to continue burning cash through 2025.

The promise to cut labor costs and resume 737 production in early December helped Boeing shares partially recover to around $177 on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Rod Nickel)