Boeing $BA CEO Kelly Ortberg said Wednesday the company has cleared a regulatory hurdle needed to raise 737 Max production to 47 aircraft per month, and expects to reach that rate within a few months.
At the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Ortberg noted that 42 jets are rolling off the line each month. "We've passed the capstone review for rate 47, so we are now in the process of running the line at the 47-a-month rate," he told CNBC. "It'll probably take us a few months of stabilization there. ... My guess is we continue to go up in rate."
Wednesday's remarks carried a notably assured tone, with Ortberg declaring Boeing "highly confident" about hitting the new output target, which he said the company should achieve within the next couple of months. A summer timeline for the increase to 47 per month had already been floated by Ortberg during last month's earnings call.
A fourth 737 production line planned for Everett, Washington state, would underpin a further step up to 52 jets per month early next year, according to Reuters. With July or August as a possible start date for the 47-per-month cadence, Ortberg suggested the subsequent climb to 52 per month would require at least another six months to complete.
"I think the whole world's watching to make sure we make 47 and 52," Ortberg said.
Ortberg said that safety and quality requirements are real constraints, which is why Boeing cannot return to its previous pace of 57 jets per month right now. He mentioned a long-term goal of 63 jets per month, saying the market could support higher rates, but admitted Boeing still has "work to do" before reaching that level.
Boeing's efforts to increase production come after it regained regulatory trust. In January 2024, a door plug blew out midflight on a 737 Max, highlighting manufacturing problems and causing the FAA to limit output to 38 jets per month. That cap was lifted last October, according to Reuters.