Boeing stopped buying aluminum from Russia and suspended operations in March

Boeing stopped buying aluminum from Russia in March, the planemaker said late on Tuesday Sept. 6, as it suspended operations in the sanctions-hit country.

It is the second important metal that Boeing has stopped sourcing from Russia this year.

The company had said in March that it had suspended buying titanium from Russia, another metal prized in aerospace for its strength relative to its weight and its compatibility with the latest generation of carbon-fibre, long-distance passenger jets.

Aluminum is a metal of choice for planemakers looking to make fuel-efficient aircraft, given that it is lightweight, strong and does not corrode easily.

“We source aluminum from around the world, including in the U.S.,” a Boeing spokesperson said in an emailed statement without giving further details.

The suspension of purchases comes amid Boeing’s struggles to raise production of 737 MAX jets due to parts and worker shortages, as it works to hit a target of positive free cash flow for 2022.

Russia’s Rusal is the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China. It supplies the world with 6% of its primary aluminum needs, estimated by analysts at around 70 million tonnes this year.

Reuters.com by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pratima Desai in London; Editing by Anil D’Silva