TOKYO -- The rise of low-cost air carriers has prompted Boeing and Airbus to focus more on short-haul aircraft, a course correction that has exposed Japanese aircraft components suppliers to strong headwinds.
Such Japanese industrial machinery manufacturers as Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI supply parts to major aircraft builders. But they tend to do so for larger planes, so the shift toward smaller ones is apparently taking a toll on earnings.
