'No Final Decision' About Building A Plant On The Gulf Coast

Airbus CEO Tom Enders says that media reports that the European planemaker will build a manufacturing plant in Alabama are premature, and that "no final decision" has been made about whether to establish a final assembly facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast has been made.

Sources close to the situation, however, say a decision could come as early as Monday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Airbus already has an engineering center in Mobile, AL, and there have been media reports that the city could be in line for a final assembly plant for the A320 ... Airbus' single-aisle workhorse airplane. Airbus already has a non-European assembly plant for the airplane in China.

The paper reports that top executives from Airbus and EADS recently visited Mobile to discuss the possibility of expansion. Enders did say that the planemaker has a long-held ambition to expand its presence in the U.S., which is considered the world's biggest defense and aerospace market.

Analysts say building the airliners in the U.S. would put the final assembly of the A320 closer to its primary customers, and potentially make it more competitive with Boeing.

FMI: www.airbus.com