Exciting Boeing 787 News

Boeing has broken ground on its site expansion in South Carolina, home to the critical 787 Dreamliner program.

The manufacturer says that construction will employ more than 2,500 people and total some 6.2 million hours in a joint venture between HITT Contracting and BE&K Building Group.

South Carolina has been home to employees for more than a decade, who fabricate and deliver every model across the 787 family worldwide.

With employees totalling more than 8,200 across the North Charleston and Orangeburg campuses, Boeing is committed to calling this part of the United States home for the 787 family, and the groundbreaking signifies that.

The expansion, underway, will include a new final assembly building, similar in size to the current building at 1.2 million square feet.

The new hall will include a state-of-the-art aircraft production line, alongside production support and office spaces for those who will work tirelessly to get the 787 into the skies, with more airlines moving forward.

Construction commencing is part of an investment worth more than $1 billion into the infrastructure, with 1,000 new jobs to be created over the next five years as part of expansion efforts.

We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its market-leading efficiency and versatility. We are making this significant investment today to ensure Boeing is ready to meet our customer’s needs in the years and decades ahead. This site expansion is a testament to the incredible work of our Boeing teammates and deepens our commitment to them, to South Carolina, and to American manufacturing.

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing is highlighting that 90 customers have already placed over 2,200 orders for the 787 Dreamliner; it remains the best-selling widebody jet for the planemaker, and that comes with an extensive backlog.

That backlog sitting at almost 1,000 aircraft has seen more than 300 planes added to it in 2025 alone. Demand for the Dreamliner isn’t expected to ease anytime soon, either, according to recent Commercial Market Outlook publications.

A 787 Production Rise

The newest Boeing facility aligns with the long-term view of increased production, which will take place across the 787 program, key to allowing the planemaker to move through the ever-evolving backlog, which at this stage substantially outpaces the monthly output rate.

In its third-quarter results, the manufacturer said production had stabilised at seven units per month throughout 2025, a positive step in the right direction to support further growth.

The stability of the planemaker is utterly crucial if it wants the investment in its South Carolina facility to be worth its while, to reach 14 units a month sooner rather than later, and to meet pre-pandemic output levels.

In the long term, however, 14 would not be the maximum production level, with Boeing confident it can achieve 16 per month, a record rate for the Charleston plant.

Naturally, to make any production increase possible, there needs to be this investment alongside the development of facilities in these locations; that is why the groundbreaking is so essential.