Boeing studying boost of 737 MAX plane production to highest-ever rate

By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE, June 5 (Reuters) - As Boeing increases production of its best-selling 737 MAX from 42 to 47 jets a month, the U.S. planemaker is looking at how it can climb to 70 a month, its highest ever, CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC on Friday.

"We'll look at that to understand where our constraints are, what the resilience is of the supply chain, but that's a study activity right now," Ortberg said. 

The planemaker's stated goal is to raise production to 63 jets a month.

The Air Current trade journal reported on Thursday that Boeing is drafting plans and assessing whether its suppliers could support raising production of the single-aisle jet to 70 per month.

Turning out more 737 MAX jets is critical to Boeing's financial recovery after losing more than $30 billion in recent years and taking on historically high levels of debt. 

Boeing has methodically increased output since it restarted 737 production in December 2024. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration capped production at 38 jets per month after a panel blew out of a nearly new 737 MAX, revealing widespread production quality and safety problems. The cap was lifted in October 2025.

"We've made sure that we're not moving (the rate up) until the production system is stable," Ortberg said.

After consulting the FAA, the company said in May it is aiming to raise production to ​47 per month in mid-summer.  

Boeing plans to load the first plane on its new 737 production line in Everett, Washington, on July 6, Ortberg told CNBC.

The line is critical to the company's plans to take 737 production to the next stage of 52 jets a month, he said. 

The supply chain will have to increase capacity to support Boeing's increased production, Ortberg said on a first-quarter earnings conference call in April. 

European rival Airbus has long aimed for ​monthly output of 75 A320neo-family jets, but repeatedly ⁠delayed the target due to supply-chain constraints. It expects to reach 70 to 75 jets per month by the end of 2027, with plans ⁠to ​stabilize production at 75 thereafter.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in SeattleEditing by Rod Nickel)