Boeing commercial aircraft deliveries for the third quarter dropped to a three-year low as a labour strike sharply curtailed activity in September.

The International Association of Machinists, Boeing's largest union, has been on strike since early September, and still neither side is closer to a compromise.

But the labour action clearly had an impact on cash-generating deliveries.

The airframer delivered 72 of 84 third quarter deliveries in July and August, as the monthly delivery rate plummeted from more than 39 to 12 in September. In the last month of the third quarter, Boeing delivered 10 next-generation 737s, one 747 and one 777.

Last year, Boeing delivered 109 aircraft in the third quarter and recorded 105 deliveries in 2006.

Overall deliveries for 2008 now amount to 325 aircraft, of which 254 are 737NGs and 50 are 777s.

Boeing is now on pace to deliver about 433 for the full-year, assuming a constant delivery rate of 36 aircraft per month.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news