(Reuters) – A recent manufacturing problem that has paused some Boeing 737 MAX deliveries will not prevent Boeing suppliers from ramping up parts production, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said on Tuesday.
Last week, Boeing indicated that near-term deliveries of the 737 MAX will slow as the company grapples with a new manufacturing problem involving the fuselage that Spirit AeroSystems built.
However, the company is comfortable holding buffer stock as its supply chain ramps up production to support a planned increase from its current rate of 31 MAXs per month, Calhoun said during Boeing’s annual meeting.
Boeing’s current plans call for suppliers to 38 jets by June, Reuters previously reported. From there, the company expects to increase monthly MAX production to 42 planes by January 2024, 47 jets by June 2024 and 52 a month by January 2025 – a rate Boeing has not held since 2019, when the company decreased output after two fatal MAX crashes.
(Reporting by Valerie Insinna; Editing by Josie Kao)
