Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) shares are trading lower on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the company stated that it projects an average annual increase of 4% in air cargo traffic through 2043.

In particular, Boeing expects the global air cargo fleet to grow by 67% to 3,900 freighters by 2043, from 2,340 freighters in 2023, driven by strong demand in Asia.

Nearly half of the new deliveries is anticipated to replace retiring freighters with more efficient models.

The Asia-Pacific fleet is expected to nearly triple, with the region requiring 980 new freighters, followed by North America with 955.

Also, Boeing expects India’s domestic air cargo market to nearly quadruple as e-commerce and express networks grow.

Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president of Commercial Marketing, said, “There will be many drivers for continued freighter demand over the next 20 years, including expansion of emerging markets and global growth in manufacturing and e-commerce.”

In a separate release, Boeing disclosed that its Millennium Space Systems completed two spacecraft for NASA’s TRACERS mission, designed to measure the interaction between solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field.

On Tuesday, Boeing disclosed that it delivered 14 aircraft throughout October, the lowest number of deliveries since Nov. 2020.

This comes after thousands of Boeing employees agreed to return to work last week, following the approval of a new four-year contract.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:MISL) and Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF (NYSE:GCAD).

Price Action: BA shares are down 2.06% at $142.19 at the last check Wednesday.

Image via Shutterstock

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