Boeing is preparing to expand 737 MAX output again, and this time it includes a new assembly line in Everett. At a supplier conference on Tuesday, a Boeing executive said the company plans to open a fourth 737 MAX production line in Everett in midsummer.
The new line will be called the North Line. It supports Boeing’s longer-term plan to raise 737 MAX production to 63 jets a month over the next few years. Boeing is now moving up from 38 jets a month to 42 as it works to steady the production system after years of disruptions that hit both Boeing and the wider aerospace supply chain.
What the new Everett line means
The Everett plan is an expansion, not a replacement. Boeing will still build 737s at its long-time site in Renton, south of Seattle. The North Line in Everett will add capacity and mark the first time Boeing produces the 737 outside Renton. Boeing has already started training workers to staff the new line.
For suppliers, the message is that Boeing wants higher output, but it also wants a controlled ramp-up. The company has been signaling that stability comes first, even if it means moving slower than some outside watchers expect.
The production targets Boeing is sharing with suppliers
Katie Ringgold, Boeing vice president and general manager of the 737 program, told suppliers they should expect output to rise by about 15% over the next 18 months. That points to Boeing reaching its next target of 47 jets a month in 2027, not this year.
That timing matters because it runs against what many in the market had been expecting. Two suppliers told Reuters that Boeing officials had previously told them to prepare for hitting 47 jets a month this year. After the updated guidance, Boeing shares dipped by nearly 1%.
Boeing’s leadership has also been trying to set a predictable pace for increases. CEO Kelly Ortberg has put production stability at the center of the company’s recovery plan. He has also said Boeing would raise production by five planes no sooner than every six months.
Ringgold also described the longer view, saying Boeing plans to raise 737 MAX production to 63 jets a month “over a number of years,”.
The 737 MAX remains Boeing’s best-selling airplane, and it competes directly with the Airbus A320neo family in the single-aisle market. Boeing’s challenge now is to increase output without creating new strain across factories and suppliers.
Attribution: Reuters
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