Boeing to Increase Production of 737s

Boeing is to increase production on the 737 program to 52 airplanes per month in 2018.

Once the increase is implemented, the 737 program is expected to build more than 620 airplanes per year, the highest rate ever for aircraft.

Boeing currently produces 42 airplanes per month at its Renton, Wash., factory, and the company previously announced plans to increase the production rate to 47 airplanes per month in 2017.

"For over a decade we have seen resilient demand for the 737 and a rate increase to 52 per month reflects the appetite for airplanes like the 737 MAX and Next-Generation 737," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Our thorough analysis tells us the single-aisle market continues to expand and is the fastest growing, most dynamic segment of the market."

The 2014 Current Market Outlook, Boeing's long-term forecast of air traffic volumes and commercial airplane demand, projects a need for more than 25,000 single-aisle airplanes over the next 20 years, worth $2.56 trillion total market value.