A Sign Of Things To Come For GA?

It's not just the price of aviation fuel that's going through the roof... it's also the cost of building the plane that burns it.

Titanium and aluminum used in the manufacture of commercial aircraft are becoming so scarce that suppliers can't keep up -- no matter how high prices go. The cost of titanium, for instance, has shot up 500-percent over the past 18 months.

The Puget Sound Business Journal also reports to price of aerospace-grade aluminum has risen 25-percent.

There are a variety of factors at work driving prices up, including the burgeoning Chinese manufacturing complex (aluminum) and the need for more armor for troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq (titanium). Record orders for Boeing and Airbus -- by any other measure a positive thing -- also work to drive the costs up.

Metal suppliers have also resisted expanding their production facilities, according to industry analysts, until their certain the demand is here to stay.

The scenario could lead to deja vu all over again for Boeing, which faced a similar crisis in 1997. In one of the aerospace manufacturer's most tumultuous times, Boeing lost $178 million due to a shortage of raw materials.

This time around, Boeing officials say they're not going to sit by and watch their suppliers struggle -- and to that end, the company is now taking a much bigger role in securing those metals.

"I believe we have really solid plans on all our requirements," Boeing Commercial Airplanes procurement director John Byrne told the Business Journal. "It's our responsibility to make sure the whole enterprise has a solution."

And if there's another bright spot for Boeing in all this... it's that the company's newest offering, the 787 Dreamliner, will require a lot less metal -- as it's to be built mostly of composites.

While the shortage will affect airliner manufacturers most immediately... none of this even begins to address the fragile recovery of the general and business aviation markets.

FMI: www.boeing.com