Boeing 787 Dreamliners are built at the aviation company’s North Charleston, South Carolina, assembly plant on May 30, 2023.
Juliette Michel | AFP | Getty Images
Boeing told employees on Monday that it expects a slower increase in production and deliveries of new 787 Dreamliner planes because of supplier shortages of “a few key parts.”
Boeing has already slowed down deliveries and output of its 737 Max planes in the aftermath of a near catastrophe in January when a door plug blew out from one of the jetliners mid-flight.
The company had separately been trying to boost output of 787 Dreamliners after quality problems suspended deliveries for nearly two years, ending in mid-2022.
We continue to take steps to improve the overall health of our production system, putting into action your ideas for improving safety, first-pass quality, training, performing more work in sequence and ensuring our teams have the necessary resources to excel,” said Scott Stocker, 787 vice president and general manager, in a memo to staff at Boeing’s South Carolina 787 plant.
Stocker said Boeing is still facing supplier shortages.
“To that end, we have shared with our customers that we expect a slower increase in our rate of production and deliveries,” he wrote in the memo, reported earlier by Reuters, adding that the company still plans to increase the rate steadily because of high demand.
Boeing was producing about five 787 Dreamliners per month as of late last year and said in January it aimed to get up to 10 a month as early as next year.
Boeing is set to report quarterly results and will likely detail its production plans before the market opens on Wednesday.
