B767 samlebåndet tusler og går - Curt Lewis

Boeing to Raise 767 Output After Jet Finds New Life as a Freighter

Boeing Co. plans to boost 767 production as the aging jetliner gains new popularity as a midsize freighter favored by the likes of FedEx Corp.

A rebound in the global air-cargo market spurred the decision to boost annual output 20 percent to 36 planes by 2020, Boeing said as it reported earnings Wednesday. That would be the third rate increase for the jetliner since early 2016.

While best-known for opening trans-continental travel to twin-engine jets in the 1980s, the 767 is now enjoying a second act as a midrange package hauler. Boeing has delivered 136 of its 767-300 freighters, according to the company's website, and has another 63 unfilled orders in backlog valued at $13.4 billion before customary discounts.

Production of the 767 freighter slowed to a crawl this decade as Boeing marshaled resources behind a military tanker variant that is more than a year behind schedule. That provided an opening for Airbus SE, which is considering a freighter version of its slow-selling A330neo after discussions with Amazon.com Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc., Bloomberg reported last month.

"That's an interesting story," George Ferguson, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, said of the 767's revival. "Something we'd all written off is back up to three aircraft a month. All the tooling is well-written off, so that's a positive" for Boeing's profit margins, he added.