Future of Boeings 787 seems secure, but maybe not in Everett
EVERETT — Weak orders for the Boeing Co.’s sleek 787 Dreamliner have some analysts considering a day when the advanced jetliner is put together only in South Carolina.
For now, several thousand workers in Everett and North Charleston, South Carolina, assemble 12 of the twin-aisle airplane each month. Boeing executives say they want to make more, not fewer, Dreamliners.
The company expects to decide this year about increasing the production rate to 14 airplanes a month, Boeing’s chief financial officer Greg Smith told industry analysts at the Barclays Industrial Select Conference in February. “Today, that looks good, but we’re monitoring it.”
After years of losing money, the program in late 2015 started bringing in cash. The company continues to whittle down the cost of making the high-tech airliner. Also, it is making more of the higher-priced 787-9 and 787-10 models, and fewer of the smallest version, the 787-8.
Boosting 787 production is critical to Boeing’s bottom line. The aerospace giant is cutting back production on its biggest moneymaker — the 777. A steep drop in new airplane orders — which means fewer down payments from customers — and other market pressures also are weighing down the company’s balance sheet. At the same time, company leaders have promised to boost profit to around 15 percent of operational revenue and increase cash payouts for shareholders.
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