The US air giant Boeing has reported a fall in earnings and cut its forecasts for sales and profits as the downturn in the aviation industry continues.

Boeing said net earnings for the July to September quarter fell to $372m (�240m), compared with $650m in the same period last year.

Including a one-off charge sustained writing down aircraft values, but excluding other one-off charges, the company earned 46 cents a share - which was in line with analysts' expectations.

There was a further sign of the weakness in the airline industry when American Airlines reported a loss of $475m for the same quarter.

Forecasts cut

Revenue from Boeing's commercial jet operations fell by nearly a quarter to $6.1bn, as airlines continued to cut and postpone orders following the 11 September attacks last year.

Boeing delivered 73 new planes during the quarter, down from 120 in the same period in 2001.

The downturn has led Boeing to reduce next year's plane delivery forecast to 275-85, compared with a previous estimate of 275-300.

It also cut its revenue forecast for 2003 by $2bn to $50bn, and revised profit margins for both 2002 and 2003 downwards.

The fall in income from its commercial division was partially offset by higher revenues from its military and space unit, where revenue rose by 14% to $3.8bn.

Overall, Boeing's revenue fell 7% to $12.7bn.

Poor outlook

One of the airlines delaying orders from Boeing is American Airlines.

On Wednesday it said it had delayed the delivery of 34 aircraft from Boeing which were due to be delivered between 2003 and 2005.

American's parent company, AMR, said its third quarter losses had increased to $924m from $414m last year.

"Although we operated an excellent airline in the third quarter, we could not overcome the cumulative weight of the economic challenges, and the environment shows little sign of improving," said AMR chairman and chief executive Don Carty.

Many US airlines are in deep trouble.

US Airways has already filed for bankruptcy, and United Airlines has warned it may have to follow suit unless it makes major cost cuts.

On Tuesday, Delta reported a $330m loss for the third quarter and said it saw no signs of any immediate improvement in the industry.