Liabilities, Commitments And Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Liabilities, Commitments And Contingencies

Liabilities, Commitments and Contingencies

Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities at December 31 consisted of the following:

	2014		2013
Accrued compensation and employee benefit costs		$5,868		$6,158
Environmental	601		649
Product warranties	1,504		1,570
Forward loss recognition	414		360
Dividends payable	637		542
Other	4,319		4,852
Total		$13,343		$14,131

Environmental

The following table summarizes environmental remediation activity during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

	2014			2013
Beginning balance – January 1		$649			$710
Reductions for payments made	(89		)	(120		)
Changes in estimates	41			59
Ending balance – December 31		$601			$649

The liabilities recorded represent our best estimate or the low end of a range of reasonably possible costs expected to be incurred to remediate sites, including operation and maintenance over periods of up to 30 years. It is reasonably possible that we may incur charges that exceed these recorded amounts because of regulatory agency orders and directives, changes in laws and/or regulations, higher than expected costs and/or the discovery of new or additional contamination. As part of our estimating process, we develop a range of reasonably possible alternate scenarios that includes the high end of a range of reasonably possible cost estimates for all remediation sites for which we have sufficient information based on our experience and existing laws and regulations. There are some potential remediation obligations where the costs of remediation cannot be reasonably estimated. At December 31, 2014 and 2013, the high end of the estimated range of reasonably possible remediation costs exceeded our recorded liabilities by $874 and $928.

Product Warranties

The following table summarizes product warranty activity recorded during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

	2014			2013
Beginning balance – January 1		$1,570			$1,572
Additions for current year deliveries	566			595
Reductions for payments made	(432		)	(419		)
Changes in estimates	(200		)	(178		)
Ending balance - December 31		$1,504			$1,570

Commercial Aircraft Commitments

In conjunction with signing definitive agreements for the sale of new aircraft (Sale Aircraft), we have entered into trade-in commitments with certain customers that give them the right to trade in used aircraft at a specified price upon the purchase of Sale Aircraft. The probability that trade-in commitments will be exercised is determined by using both quantitative information from valuation sources and qualitative information from other sources. The probability of exercise is assessed quarterly, or as events trigger a change, and takes into consideration the current economic and airline industry environments. Trade-in commitments, which can be terminated by mutual consent with the customer, may be exercised only during the period specified in the agreement, and require advance notice by the customer.

Trade-in commitment agreements at December 31, 2014 have expiration dates from 2015 through 2026. At December 31, 2014 and 2013, total contractual trade-in commitments were $2,392 and $1,605. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, we estimated that it was probable we would be obligated to perform on certain of these commitments with net amounts payable to customers totaling $446 and $325 and the fair value of the related trade-in aircraft was $446 and $325.

Financing Commitments

Financing commitments related to aircraft on order, including options and those proposed in sales campaigns, totaled $16,723 and $17,987 as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. The estimated earliest potential funding dates for these commitments as of December 31, 2014 are as follows:

	Total
2015		$2,552
2016	3,710
2017	3,497
2018	2,305
2019	1,738
Thereafter	2,921
		$16,723

As of December 31, 2014 all of these financing commitments related to customers we believe have less than investment-grade credit. We have concluded that no reserve for future potential losses is required for these financing commitments based upon the terms, such as collateralization and interest rates, under which funding would be provided.

Standby Letters of Credit and Surety Bonds

We have entered into standby letters of credit and surety bonds with financial institutions primarily relating to the guarantee of our future performance on certain contracts. Contingent liabilities on outstanding letters of credit agreements and surety bonds aggregated approximately $3,985 and $4,376 as of December 31, 2014 and 2013.

Commitments to ULA

We and Lockheed Martin Corporation have each committed to provide ULA with up to $527 of additional capital contributions in the event ULA does not have sufficient funds to make a required payment to us under an inventory supply agreement. See Note 6.

C-17

In September 2013, we decided to end production of C-17 aircraft in late 2015. In April 2014, we announced that we anticipate ending production approximately three months earlier based on our decision to produce three fewer aircraft in 2015 than previously planned. As a result, during the first quarter of 2014, BDS recorded $48 to write off inventory and accrue termination liabilities to suppliers. At December 31, 2014, our backlog included international orders for three C-17 aircraft that are scheduled for delivery in 2015 and we have active sales campaigns for the remaining seven unsold aircraft. We are currently incurring costs and have made commitments to suppliers related to these aircraft. We believe it is probable that we will recover costs related to the unsold aircraft from international customer orders. Should orders for the seven unsold aircraft not materialize or should we decide to discontinue production of unsold aircraft, we could incur further charges to write-down inventory and/or record termination liabilities. At December 31, 2014, we had approximately $1,091 of capitalized precontract costs and $385 of potential termination liabilities to suppliers associated with unsold aircraft.

F/A-18

At December 31, 2014, our backlog included 68 F/A-18 aircraft under contract with the U.S. Navy. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, funds 15 additional F/A-18 aircraft. The orders in backlog, combined with anticipated orders for the 15 aircraft currently funded, would complete production in 2017. The President’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request submitted in February 2015 did not include funding for additional F/A-18 aircraft. We are continuing to work with our U.S. customer as well as international customers to secure additional orders. Should additional orders not materialize, it is reasonably possible that we will decide in the next twelve months to end production of the F/A-18 at a future date. We are still evaluating the full financial impact of a potential production shutdown, including any recovery that may be available from the U.S. government.

Company Owned Life Insurance

McDonnell Douglas Corporation insured its executives with Company Owned Life Insurance (COLI), which are life insurance policies with a cash surrender value. Although we do not use COLI currently, these obligations from the merger with McDonnell Douglas are still a commitment at this time. We have loans in place to cover costs paid or incurred to carry the underlying life insurance policies. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the cash surrender value was $466 and $451 and the total loans were $439 and $425. As we have the right to offset the loans against the cash surrender value of the policies, we present the net asset in Other assets on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of December 31, 2014 and 2013.

United States Government Defense Environment Overview

U.S. government appropriation levels remain subject to significant uncertainty. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act (The Act) established limits on U.S. government discretionary spending, including a reduction of defense spending by approximately $490 billion between the 2012 and 2021 U.S. government fiscal years. The Act also provided that the defense budget would face “sequestration” cuts of up to an additional $500 billion during that same period to the extent that discretionary spending limits are exceeded. While the impact of sequestration cuts was reduced with respect to FY2014 and FY2015 following the enactment of The Bipartisan Budget Act in December 2013, significant uncertainty remains with respect to overall levels of defense spending. It is likely that U.S. government discretionary spending levels for FY2016 and beyond will continue to be subject to significant pressure, including risk of future sequestration cuts.

Significant uncertainty also continues with respect to program-level appropriations for the U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. DoD) and other government agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, within the overall budgetary framework described above. Future budget cuts, including cuts mandated by sequestration, or future procurement decisions associated with the authorization and appropriations process could result in reductions, cancellations and/or delays of existing contracts or programs. Any of these impacts could have a material effect on the results of the Company’s operations, financial position and/or cash flows.

In addition to the risks described above, if Congress is unable to pass appropriations bills in a timely manner, a government shutdown could result which could have impacts above and beyond those resulting from budget cuts or sequestration impacts. For example, requirements to furlough employees in the U.S. DoD or other government agencies could result in payment delays, impair our ability to perform work on existing contracts, and/or negatively impact future orders.

BDS Fixed-Price Development Contracts

Fixed-price development work is inherently uncertain and subject to significant variability in estimates of the cost and time required to complete the work. BDS fixed-price contracts with significant development work include Airborne Early Warning and Control, Commercial Crew, India P-8I, Saudi F-15, USAF KC-46A Tanker and commercial and military satellites. The operational and technical complexities of these contracts create financial risk, which could trigger termination provisions, order cancellations or other financially significant exposure. Changes to cost and revenue estimates could result in lower margins or material charges for reach-forward losses. For example, during the second quarter of 2014, higher estimated costs to complete the KC-46A Tanker contract for the U.S. Air Force resulted in a reach-forward loss of $425 of which the Commercial Airplanes segment recorded $238 and the BMA segment recorded $187.

Recoverable Costs on Government Contracts

Our final incurred costs for each year are subject to audit and review for allowability by the U.S. government, which can result in payment demands related to costs they believe should be disallowed. We work with the U.S. government to assess the merits of claims and where appropriate reserve for amounts disputed. If we are unable to satisfactorily resolve disputed costs, we could be required to record an earnings charge and/or provide refunds to the U.S. government.

Russia/Ukraine

We continue to monitor political unrest involving Russia and Ukraine, where we and some of our suppliers source titanium products and/or have operations. A number of our commercial customers also have operations in Russia and Ukraine. To date, we have not experienced any significant disruptions to production or deliveries. Should suppliers or customers experience disruption, our production and/or deliveries could be materially impacted.

747 and 787 Commercial Airplane Programs

The development and initial production of new commercial airplanes and new commercial airplane derivatives, which include the 747 and 787, entail significant commitments to customers and suppliers as well as substantial investments in working capital, infrastructure and research and development. The 747 and 787 programs had gross margins that were breakeven or near breakeven during 2014.

Lower-than-expected demand for large commercial passenger and freighter aircraft have resulted in ongoing pricing pressures and fewer 747 orders than anticipated. We continue to have a number of unsold 747 production positions. If market, production and other risks cannot be mitigated, the program could face a reach-forward loss that may be material.

The combination of production challenges, change incorporation, schedule delays and customer and supplier impacts has created significant pressure on 787 program profitability. If risks related to this program, including risks associated with planned production rate increases or introducing and manufacturing the 787-10 derivative as scheduled cannot be mitigated, the program could face additional customer claims and/or supplier assertions, as well as a reach-forward loss that may be material.