Boeing 737 MAX Milestones Mid-2026: Record Orders, Everett Production Line, and Rate Hikes

For more than five decades, every Boeing 737 had been assembled at the company's Renton factory south of Seattle. That changed on July 6, 2026, when Boeing officially began production on the new "North Line" at its Everett, Washington, widebody plant .

• Announcement: Boeing revealed plans in February 2026 to open a fourth 737 MAX assembly line in Everett .
• Start Date: CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed the July 6 start date during a CNBC interview in June 2026 .
• First Aircraft: The first two fuselages moving through the line are 737 MAX 10s, the largest variant in the MAX family .
• Capability: The North Line is designed to build all 737 MAX variants, with an initial focus on the MAX 8, MAX 9, and MAX 10 .
• Purpose: The line adds long-term production capacity and stability. Boeing described it as a "copy" of the three Renton lines, with the addition of a new wing transport tool to ferry wings from Renton .

Replacing the former 787 production line at Everett, the North Line is expected to eventually help Boeing reach a target of 52 jets per month from a single line when at full capacity, supporting the program's overall rate ambitions .

Production Rate Ramp: From 38 to 47 (and Beyond)

Boeing's 737 MAX production has gone through a multi-step, FAA-supervised ramp in 2025 and 2026:

On May 27, 2026, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference that the company had "passed a capstone review for rate 47" with the FAA. "We are now in the process of running the line at the 47-a-month rate," Ortberg said, adding that the company was "off and rolling" . The FAA capped Boeing's production at 38/month in early 2024 following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident, then lifted it to 42/month in late 2025 before this latest increase .

Delivery Momentum: Best First Half Since 2018

The production ramp translated into real delivery numbers:

• May 2026: Boeing delivered 60 total jets, including 51 737 MAX jets — its highest monthly MAX total since the Alaska Airlines incident .
• June 2026: 64 total jet deliveries .
• First Half 2026: 314 total deliveries, up 12% year-over-year and the best first-half performance since 2018 .

The company also delivered 42 MAX jets in June 2026 alone, a sign that final assembly output was stabilizing at 42/month even as the transition to 47/month began .

The Path to 53 and the Study for 70

Boeing's finance team has identified 53 aircraft per month as the primary near-term target, the rate at which the company can begin meaningfully reducing its backlog of more than 4,800 unfilled orders . Ortberg stated the company expects to reach this rate by the end of 2026 .

Beyond that, in early June 2026, Boeing confirmed it is conducting an internal study examining whether it can eventually produce up to 63 to 70 MAX jets per month — a rate that would rival Airbus's highest A320-family production rates . CEO Ortberg noted during a CNBC interview that the study is evaluating supply-chain resilience and identifying potential constraints, but emphasized that the 63/month figure remains the company's official long-term target .

Key Caveats

• The 47/month rate is a newly achieved target, not yet a sustained run rate. Ortberg himself described a "few months of stabilization" ahead .
• The 63–70/month figures are internal study targets, not committed production plans. Their realization depends on supply-chain capability, workforce readiness, and further FAA approval .
• The MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants remain uncertified by the FAA, with no timeline provided. The North Line's current focus on MAX 10 suggests Boeing is preparing for eventual certification but cannot yet deliver that variant .