Large OEMs Extend Long-Term Agreements with Manufacturers

In September 2025, STS Metals and Boeing announced an extended long-term supply agreement covering titanium rod, bar, and plate in support of Boeing’s commercial airplane programs. That kind of agreement doesn’t happen by accident. It doesn’t happen simply because you have the lowest price. Agreements at this scale require demonstrated manufacturing control, process traceability, and the capacity to support production ramp-ups that are already underway.

The 737 MAX alone has nearly 5,000 unfilled orders, and the airframes themselves are growing more titanium-intensive with each generation. The 747 carried roughly 4 percent titanium by structural weight, the 777 about 7 percent, and the 787 reaches 15 percent because a mostly-composite airframe needs titanium in the places aluminum can no longer go. The 777X now in certification carries more than the 777 it replaces. Demand is climbing on order volume and titanium per aircraft simultaneously.