Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg warns 737 Max production ramp is delayed

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg warns 737 Max production ramp is delayed Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg warns 737 Max production ramp is delayed · Quartz · John van Hasselt - Corbis / Getty Images Cris Tolomia Thu, September 17, 2026 at 9:23 PM GMT+9 2 min read BA -3.69% Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said Wednesday that stabilizing 737 Max output at 47 jets per month is taking "longer than expected," sending Boeing stock down 4% by the close of trading.

Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference, Ortberg pointed to the Renton, Washington factory's wing output as the primary bottleneck holding back the higher production rate. Hitting 52 jets per month next year will require Boeing to get wing manufacturing up to speed and win certification for an additional 737 line in Everett, Washington, he said.

The slower production ramp on both the 737 and the 787 Dreamliner means Boeing will likely land at $2 billion in free cash flow — the midpoint of its January guidance — rather than the $3 billion upside target, Boeing Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave said at the same conference.

On the 787, Ortberg said engine shortages are slowing a planned increase to 10 jets per month. Boeing is currently producing eight of the wide-body jets per month, but slow certification of premium seats has weighed on deliveries. "So, I think you're going to still see us, even though we may have a pretty good roll out rate of eight a month, you're going to see us be a little bit lumpy here month to month on 787 delivery," Ortberg said.

Ortberg also said the largest 737 variant, the Max 10, will be certified "very soon." That plane is years behind schedule and accounts for about 30% of all 737 orders. Boeing's smallest variant, the 737-7, received U.S. regulatory certification in August.

On the question of a potential Chinese jetliner order, Ortberg tamped down expectations that President Donald Trump's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 24 would produce a Boeing announcement. Orders from China are "going to be announced by the airlines at their pace," he said, according to CNBC.

Boeing's push to hit 47 jets per month marks a significant step in the company's recovery. Ortberg said earlier this year that Boeing had cleared a regulatory milestone needed to raise 737 Max production to 47 aircraft per month and expressed confidence the rate would be achieved within months. That optimism has since been tempered by the wing supply constraint.

The production difficulties come as Boeing carries nearly $26 billion in net debt after years of safety and quality crises, including a January 2024 incident in which a door plug blew out midflight on a 737 Max, prompting the FAA to cap output at 38 jets per month. That cap was lifted last October, according to Reuters.