UPS Orders 27 Cargo Planes from Boeing

United Parcel Service has placed an order with Boeing for 27 767-300ER freight aircraft. The plane's list price range is $118-160 million, but companies that buy in bulk generally do not pay list. UPS, which is scheduled to receive the planes between 2009 and 2012, plans to use the wide-body 767s on routes to and from Europe and Latin America and within Asia and Europe. UPS claims there is no connection between this order and an outstanding order it is currently reviewing with Airbus for 10 A380 freighters. UPS is Airbus's last remaining customer for the freight version of the A380, now that FedEx has canceled an order for 10. Boeing had orders for only 10 767s last year. Its newer 787, a carbon-fiber, mid-sized widebody, had 157 orders.

Sources: CNBC, Business Week
Commentary: Boeing's Earnings Fly, So Do Shares, Boeing One-Ups Airbus Yet Again With FedEx Contract, Boeing Is Flying High. Conference call transcripts: Q4 2006
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Boeing Co. (BA), United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS). Competitors: Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (ITA), PowerShares Aerospace & Defense (PPA), DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 (DIA), Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI)

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