Aircraft Orders Jump, But Boeing 737 Max Grounding Could Trim U.S.

Growth

A Boeing employee works on the fuselage of a 737 Max 9 test plane at the company's factory in Renton, Wash., on March 14. Orders for durable
goods jumped 2.7% last month, fueled in part by strong demand for commercial aircraft.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
The grounding of Boeing's troubled 737 Max aircraft could pinch U.S. economic growth, some analysts say, but the government reported Thursday
that aircraft orders were strong enough last month to lift a key indicator.

Orders for durable goods jumped 2.7% in March, fueled in part by strong demand for commercial aircraft. The Commerce Department reported
that orders for civilian aircraft soared 31%.
Despite that strong demand, shipments of commercial planes fell slightly during the month, dipping 0.4%. Boeing halted deliveries of its popular
737 Max jets in mid-March. The planes have been grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes within five months.

Boeing has also scaled back production of the Max jets indefinitely, as it works to modify an anti-stall system that has been implicated in the
crashes. In mid-April, Boeing announced it would produce 42 Max jets each month, down from 52 before the decision.

Boeing said Wednesday that its earnings in the first quarter fell to $2.1 billion, down 13% from the same period a year ago.
"Across the company, we are focused on safety, returning the 737 Max to service, and earning and re-earning the trust and confidence of
customers, regulators and the flying public," CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement.
With no clear indication when the bestselling Max jets would return to service, Boeing declined to predict its results for the remainder of the year.

Analysts at Wells Fargo say the 737 Max accounted for nearly half of Boeing's total orders since 2016. In a sign of the aerospace giant's outsize
footprint, the analysts predicted the slowdown in Max production could shave 0.2 percentage points off national economic growth in the second
quarter of the year.

Using excess heat to create a food production facility

SSEC-Swedish surplus energy collaboration reveals how excess heat can be turned into local produce for greener cities. To illustrate this, we

find out about Malmö, the biggest city in the southern part of Sweden. One of the many fun facts revealed about this city is that since the turn of

the century, it has seen an almost 25% increase in population, partly as a result of the opening of the bridge across the Oresund linking the city

to the neighbouring country, Denmark and its capital, Copenhagen.

How to utilise the residual heat from the Northern part of the harbour with the district heating and waste management facilities for creating a local

urban food production is just one of the many insights offered here. We also find out that there is an opportunity for Malmö to share with three

other cities connected with the Open Innovation competition “Urban Food from Residual Heat”, of which we are lavished with many details of. We

also learn about the Foodhills Industrial Park, a large-scale industrial food production site focused on sustainable climate- smart food production

at an industrial scale with highly efficient fish farms, greenhouses and cold storage facilities.

Modular construction

Another compelling area discussed here concerns a modular fish farm and greenhouse that can fit in everywhere. Here, we are told about a form

of modular construction that is partly based on the reuse of old shipping containers. The containers, we learn, contain a fish farm. Further details

are provided, including the fact that a number of glulam greenhouse modules can be added, and wooden containers for staff functions, as well as

social spaces from a café to a classroom or even market stalls. I hope that you find the details of the success stories detailed here inspiring.