By Dan Catchpole
LYNNWOOD, Washington, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Boeing plans to open a fourth 737 MAX production line in Everett, Washington, in midsummer, a Boeing executive said on Tuesday at an aerospace suppliers conference.
The new line, dubbed the North Line, is part of the U.S. planemaker’s plans to increase production of its popular 737 MAX jet to 63 jets a month in the next few years. It is currently increasing production from 38 jets a month to 42.
Suppliers can expect Boeing to further increase output by about 15% in the next 18 months, Boeing Vice President and 737 program General Manager Katie Ringgold said at the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Association’s Advance 2026 conference.
That would mean reaching Boeing’s next 737 rate target of 47 jets a month in 2027, not this year, as many industry watchers and investors expect.
Two suppliers told Reuters that Boeing officials had previously told them to prepare for reaching a rate of 47 jets a month this year.
Boeing shares dipped nearly 1%.
The planemaker is recovering from several years of crises that have disrupted its production plans and the broader aerospace supply chain.
Tasked with turning around the company, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has prioritized restoring production stability and has previously said the company would increase production by five planes not sooner than every six months.
The North Line in Everett will mark the first time a 737 has been produced outside Boeing’s Renton plant south of Seattle. Boeing has started training workers to staff the line.
Boeing plans to crank up 737 production to 63 jets a month “over a number of years,” Ringgold told suppliers.
The 737 MAX, Boeing’s best-selling airplane, competes closely with the Airbus A320neo family in the lucrative single-aisle jetliner market.
(Reporting by Dan Catchpole; Editing by Will Dunham, Rod Nickel)
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