Boeing 737 MAX Production Rates Keep Falling

Boeing’s woes with its 737 MAX continue as the manufacturer reports slips in its monthly output of the popular narrowbody series.

Following a door blowout incident at the top of the calendar year, Boeing has faced difficulty after difficulty, which has ultimately interrupted its goals.

Additionally, the manufacturer has faced persistent inquiries from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airlines, and many others about how persistent quality issues continue to occur with no remedy.

As a result, Boeing has been barred from increasing production of its 737 MAX. The firm believes any increase would jeopardise its focus on rebuilding as a company and emerging more positively in the long term.

However, even if Boeing wanted to increase production, there are valid concerns that the company would be unable to do so, with production rates continuing to fall, per Reuters.

A new report by the leading publication highlights that Boeing’s production rates have sharply fallen in recent weeks as a greater focus has been placed on inspecting assembly lines where planes are assembled.

At its current rate, Boeing can only produce nearly 40 MAX jets a month. However, industry sources report that these figures were as low as single digits in the final weeks of March.

While the production drops are bad for Boeing as problems continue to impact their day-to-day operations, their customers also feel the knock-on effect. Airlines worldwide are now unable to welcome the aircraft they require on time, and while delays can stretch weeks, these are now more often than not extending months, if not years and the ramifications are considerable.

Boeing, however, believes that despite these drops, its focus must remain on building confidence with key customers and eliminating the persistent quality issues that have slipped through quality control and caused this mess to occur.

Several analysts close to Boeing have, more often than not have formed the opinion that Boeing has never been put under so much pressure to rectify its wrongdoings and as described by Emirates president Tim Clark, they’re on their last chance.