777 Freighter production halted for nearly two months; Boeing puts impact at $6.5 million a day
Key Facts
Production of 777 freighters was halted for nearly two months because of Boeing’s dispute with a wing-parts supplier, and the line remained stopped after the companies settled in late September, according to three Boeing employees cited by Reuters on October 23. Boeing filed a complaint in August accusing Vaero of stopping deliveries of the wing’s aft spar chord, disrupting work at the Everett wing facility, which serves the 777 and 767 programs. The complaint estimated the disruption’s impact at up to $6.5 million a day, a maximum figure cited in the lawsuit and not a disclosed actual cost. The continued stoppage after the settlement highlights that resolving the dispute did not immediately return the part to the production line. The 777 freighter stoppage also draws attention because of the model’s importance in the air cargo market.
Boeing described the spar chord kit in its complaint as an “indispensable part” and said Vaero was its sole supplier. That wording reflects the company’s statements in the lawsuit about the production line’s dependence on the part and its source of supply. A Boeing employee said the absence of Vaero parts led the company to remove two partially completed 777 freighters from the final assembly line. Reuters identified one as bound for FedEx, based on data from IBA. Removing the two aircraft shows the direct effect of the parts shortage on planes already in assembly, alongside the halt in production flow. The available information gave no specific date for returning them to the line.
The disruption also extended to the 767 program, which includes freighters and the U.S. military’s KC-46 aerial refueling tankers, according to the Reuters report. But one employee said Boeing received some parts needed for the 767 line after the settlement, pointing to a partial improvement in supplies for the program. The report did not say that 767 production had fully returned to its previous state. The 777X program, by contrast, was unaffected by the dispute because its aircraft use composite wings rather than the components at issue. The part’s impact was therefore limited to the programs that rely on it, with the 777X outside the disruption’s scope, according to the report.
Boeing is trying to bring production of the aft spar chord kit in-house, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The report did not specify when in-house manufacturing would begin or when 777 freighter production would resume. The effort shows the company is seeking to change the source of the part that it said in its complaint was supplied solely by Vaero, while the aircraft line remained stopped after the settlement. A successful return to production depends on restoring the flow of parts or securing in-house manufacturing, but the sources gave no timeline. The two aircraft removed from the assembly line remain a tangible indication of the shortage’s effect on work in progress.
Boeing took delivery of 21 777 freighters during the year through the Reuters report on October 23, according to company data cited by the report. For the 777 program as a whole, the company reported delivering 20 aircraft in the first nine months of 2026, including 5 in the third quarter; that figure covers the program and is not limited to the freighter version. In 2025, Boeing delivered 35 aircraft across the entire program, again without limiting the number to freighters. These figures show the scope of deliveries recorded for each category and period, which differ between the freighter model and the broader program. The available information did not specify how many future deliveries could be affected by the production stoppage.
Boeing is scheduled to report results on October 27, the next milestone cited in the available information for tracking the company’s position. An update on when 777 freighter production will resume and the disruption’s effect on deliveries will be among the points to watch in those results. Through the Reuters report on October 23, production had not resumed despite the late-September settlement. Sources also had not announced when the two partially completed aircraft would return to the assembly line or when the shift to in-house manufacturing would be complete. These developments remain tied to the availability of the part that the company said in its complaint is essential to the 777 and 767 programs.