WASHINGTON -- Boeing (IW 500/13) on Thursday said it would step up production of its best-selling 737 commercial jetliners to meet robust demand from customers worldwide.
Boeing said it would increase production of the 737 family to 52 airplanes per month in 2018, building more than 620 airplanes per year, a record-high rate.
The company currently builds 42 of the short- to medium-haul 737s per month and previously announced it would raise the production rate to 47 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 for 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."
Boeing's latest global demand forecast projects that more than 25,000 single-aisle airplanes will be needed over the next 20 years, with an estimated market value of $2.56 trillion.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
