2019年经济学人 航空航天业和波音(3)

 

Affected¹ airlines can expect compensation in kind from Boeing, in the form of bigger discounts and better deals on other services. The same cannot be said of Boeing’s suppliers. It has relentlessly² squeezed their profit margins³ in recent years in search of efficiency. Many have invested in extra capacity to supply parts for 57 max planes a month, Boeing’s original production target for this year. Instead, Boeing cut monthly output back from 52 to 42.

受影响的航空公司可以从波音获得实物补偿，形式是更大的折扣和更好的其他服务。波音的供应商却不是这样。近年来，为了追求效率，播音无情地挤压了供应商的利润率。许多公司已投资增加产能，每月最多可供应57架飞机的零部件，这是波音今年最初的生产目标。但相反，波音将月产量从52架削减至42架。

Low spirits

没精打采

Spirit AeroSystems, which gets around half its revenues from supplying fuselages for the 737 max, saw margins slip and is cutting overtime⁴ and putting workers on unpaid⁵ leave to cut costs after “disruption in a complex production system”, says its boss, Tom Gentile. It has lost 28% of its market capitalisation, or around $3bn, since March. Allegheny Technologies, which makes composite materials used in the aircraft, has been similarly clobbered⁶. General Electric, America’s troubled engineering giant which supplies max engines in a joint⁷ venture with Safran, a French aerospace⁸ company, faces a bigger bill. It is paid only when planes are delivered. It estimates that its cashflow could be reduced by as much $1.4bn in 2019, adding to its woes⁹. Safran’s results for the first half of 2019, due on September 5th, will be pored over for signs of trouble.

Spirit AeroSystems大约有一半的收入来自为737 max提供机身。该公司老板汤姆?詹蒂表示，在“一个复杂的生产系统遭到破坏”后，该公司利润率出现下滑，正在削减加班和让员工无薪休假，以削减成本。自今年3月以来，该公司市值缩水28%，约30亿美元。制造飞机所用复合材料的阿勒格尼技术公司也遭受了类似的打击。美国陷入困境的工程巨头“通用电气”，在与法国航空航天公司“赛峰”的合资企业中提供max发动机，面临着更大的开支。只有在飞机交付时才能收回款项。该公司估计，到2019年，其现金流可能减少多达14亿美元，使其雪上加霜。将于9月5日公布的赛峰2019年上半年业绩将被仔细研究，以寻找问题的迹象。

Most aerospace firms do not live by Boeing alone. That, and Boeing’s decision to maintain production, has insulated them from a bigger fallout. UTC, an American conglomerate¹⁰ which makes electronics, seats, wheels and brakes for the max, reckons the delays will have only a small impact on profits. The situation for suppliers is summed up neatly¹¹ by David Squires¹², boss of Senior, a British firm that makes high-tech¹³ components¹⁴ not only for Boeing but also for GE and Spirit. The grounding has not been devastating¹⁵, he insists. That said, his firm will now be where it hoped to be in April 2019 only by the start of 2021.

大多数航空公司并不仅仅依靠波音公司。这一点，以及波音维持生产的决定，使它们免受了更大的影响。UTC是一家为max生产电子产品、座椅、车轮和刹车的美国企业集团，该公司认为这些延期只会对利润产生很小的影响。英国Senior 公司的老板 David Squires 对供应商的情况进行了精辟的总结。Senior 公司不仅为波音公司生产高科技零部件，还为通用电气和Spirit公司生产。他坚称，这次停飞并没有造成灾难性后果。话虽如此，他的公司到2019年4月才能达到预期目标，2021年初才能真正实现。

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

3 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

4 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

5 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

6 clobbered   

v.狠揍， （不停）猛打( clobber的过去式和过去分词 )；彻底击败

参考例句：

• The paper got clobbered with libel damages of half a million pounds. 这家报纸被罚以五十万英镑的诽谤损害赔偿金。
• The robbers clobbered the shopkeeper to make him open the safe. 强盗们殴打店主迫使他打开保险箱。 来自辞典例句

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

9 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

10 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

11 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

12 squires   

n.地主，乡绅( squire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The family history was typical of the Catholic squires of England. 这个家族的历史，在英格兰信天主教的乡绅中是很典型的。 来自辞典例句
• By 1696, with Tory squires and Amsterdam burghers complaining about excessive taxes. 到1696年，托利党的乡绅们和阿姆斯特丹的市民都对苛捐杂税怨声载道。 来自辞典例句

13 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

14 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

15 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。