Boeing plans to wrap up rework in ‘shadow factories’ this year

Boeing has made progress winnowing its once-massive inventory of undelivered 737 Max and 787s and is now preparing to shutter so-called “shadow factories” in which it has been completing rework on the aircraft. The company’s inventory at the end of 2024 included 55 737 Max 8s and 25 787s that had been produced prior to 2023, Boeing CFO Brian West said during the company’s 2024 earnings call on 28 January. By comparison, Boeing’s inventory of those aircraft stood at 140 737 Max 8s and 50 787s at the end of 2023. The company has been tracking its stockpile for several years since it began accumulating a large inventory of jets when production continued but deliveries stopped the during the 737 Max grounding between March 2019 and November 2020. But the inventory also swelled because Chinese airlines refused to accept 737 Max for several years after the grounding ended. Many of Boeing’s stored 737s and 787s have required rework due to manufacturing issues. At one point, Boeing was sitting on some 450 undelivered 737 Max and 120 undelivered 787s. So far this year, Boeing has already delivered around 10 of the 55 737 Max 8s in its inventory at end-2024, says West. “We now expect to shut down the shadow factory mid-year, and to deliver all the remaining [Max 8s] to customers within the year.”<br/>