Boeing’s 737 MAX line taking longer to stabilize than expected, CEO says
Published 2:45 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2026
EVERETT — Just over two months after adding the Everett production line, Boeing’s 737 MAX line is taking “a little bit longer” to stabilize than anticipated, CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a conference Wednesday.
Boeing’s 737 MAX production rate is 47 planes a month after the aerospace company passed the Federal Aviation Administration’s capstone review. But Boeing hopes to eventually produce 52 planes per month, a goal Everett’s North Line is expected to help accomplish.
“We are not stable yet at 47 a month,” Ortberg said during a presentation at the Morgan Stanley industry conference. “That’s been our task here: to get stable.”
The Everett production line produces the 737 MAX 8, 9 and 10, aside from the wings, which are produced at the Renton site and transported to Everett for final assembly. Currently, it’s wing production that is constraining the company, Ortberg said.
“We just have not seen the flow improvements that we expected in the time frame,” he said during the presentation.
Boeing has plans to address the issues, Ortberg added, but did not explain what the plans entailed.
The FAA initially capped Boeing’s 737 MAX production rate at 38 per month after a door plug blew out of a 737 MAX after taking off from Portland in 2024. The production rate has increased in intervals since then.
Once the flow issues are solved, the supply chain is “in pretty good shape” to move to the next production rate, Ortberg said.
The 737 MAX series has faced hurdles in the past, such as issues with the deicing system of the plane’s engines. It was the deicing issues that delayed certification of the MAX 10 and MAX 7.
In August, the Federal Aviation Administration certified the 737 MAX 7, the smallest member of the 737 family of planes. Certification for the MAX 10 is coming “very soon,” Ortberg said. Boeing is currently building two MAX 10s in Everett as part of the line certification.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan
