Boeing delivers 320 737-family jets in first eight months of 2026, averaging 40 a month, as it opens fourth line in Everett
Why It MattersBoeing's narrowbody output is still short of its own 47-a-month target while Airbus leads total deliveries, so supply of new single-aisle aircraft stays tight through 2027.
Boeing delivered 114 737s in the first quarter of 2026 and 129 in the second, bringing the total for the first eight months to 320 aircraft, an average of 40 per month. In 2018, the last normal year for Boeing commercial deliveries, it delivered 580 737s, about 48 a month. The 737 family backlog stands at 4,813, or 4,341 after the ASC 606 adjustment. Boeing's second-quarter filing put undelivered 737 MAX aircraft at 4,397 as of June 2026: about 264 MAX 7s (6%), 2,550 MAX 8s (58%), 220 MAX 9s (5%) and 1,363 MAX 10s (31%). Until now Boeing had delivered only the MAX 8 and MAX 9.
In August the FAA issued an amended type certificate and updated Production Limitation Record for the 737 MAX 7 after almost a decade of review. The MAX 10 remains uncertified, with the program in its final documentation phase after the FAA's Corrective Action Review Board determined in early October that an unexpected software issue was not a safety concern. In July Boeing was still officially forecasting its first MAX 7 delivery in 2027, but in September Southwest said it expects some MAX 7 deliveries in late 2026.
Boeing started 2026 at around 42 737 deliveries a month and planned to reach 47 a month by mid-year. It has held at 42 (42 in August, 41 in September), and a stable 47 is still a work in progress. CEO Kelly Ortberg said in September that stabilizing 737 MAX production at 47 deliveries per month is taking "longer than expected", and that Boeing has not been able to make 737 wings fast enough to consistently feed that rate. Boeing plans to reach 52 a month in 2027 and is studying rates as high as 70. In July it opened its fourth 737 production line, the 'North Line' in Everett, the first time it has assembled 737s outside Renton, after a $1 billion investment; the line will ramp up slowly while the three Renton lines work to lift output from 42 to a stable 47 a month.
Across all commercial types Boeing delivered 418 aircraft in the first eight months, while Airbus delivered about 475 against an 870-aircraft 2026 target, putting Airbus 57 aircraft ahead. Boeing leads in widebodies with 94 deliveries (22 767s, 18 777s and 54 787s) against Airbus's 46 (11 A330s and 35 A350s). Airbus delivered 425 narrowbodies in the period, including 60 A220s and 369 A320 family aircraft, about 46 a month, and reports an A320 family backlog of 7,577.
