Boeing tests suppliers on 787 output hikes -sources

Boeing is yet to see any respite from a freeze in deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner - but that has not stopped it testing suppliers' capacity to meet output scenarios as high as seven a month by end-2023, three people with knowledge of the matter said. The planemaker has stopped making public predictions on when it will win approval from US regulators to resume deliveries, halted for nearly a year by factory defects in a still-running saga that is costing $5.5b overall. While some industry sources have pegged a delivery restart as early as next month, the date is increasingly under scrutiny with April just days away. Boeing's recovery plan could see it increase the current rock-bottom monthly rate of two 787s to three around May, if deliveries have started by then, and again to four around November, two of the people said. From there, suppliers have been asked to be ready to tackle rates as high as seven a month around October 2023, if requested, the sources added. But, the people said, it has discussed what some analysts consider ambitious scenarios with parts makers as it surveys an industry crippled by successive crises and now facing labor and materials shortages deepened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Boeing's production strategy hinges on several key unknowns including when deliveries restart, how quickly it can reduce an overhang of more than 100 undelivered 787s and the extent to which the Ukraine crisis dampens already weak demand.<br/>