Jason Sandefur

The current machinists’ strike at Boeing may not be as beneficial to the aerospace fastener industry as media reports suggest.

Patrick Meade of the Industrial Fastener Institute’s aerospace fastener division told FastenerNews.com that uncertainty remains about the strike’s impact on fastener makers.

“I think this strike will be a hardship to some manufacturers,” Meade commented.

Media reports have suggested that fastener manufacturers can use this time to catch up on past due deliveries to other customers.

“The problem there is that the past due items to other customers may not be in the production pipeline at a stage to make up for any missed Boeing shipments,” Meade told FastenerNews.com. “Therefore, there will likely be a reduction in shipments for a while.”

Boeing’s 27,000 machinists voted to strike over job security, medical coverage, wages and pension benefits. Experts estimate the strike could cost Boeing – which has confirmed it will not build airplanes until the machinists return – as much as $120 million per day.

A tight aerospace fastener market has already forced two costly delays on the Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

For more on the fastener impact, seeing the upcoming issue of FIN. �2008 FastenerNews.com