Aircraft
Boeing To Cut 747-8 Production to One per Month
Move from 1.3 per month to take effect next March
Boeing now builds 747-8s at a rate of 1.3 per month. (Photo: Boeing)
Boeing now builds 747-8s at a rate of 1.3 per month. (Photo: Boeing)

Boeing has decided to cut the production rate of the 747-8 from 1.3 to one airplane per month starting in March of next year, the company confirmed Wednesday. The move comes as the firm order backlog for the quad-jets has dwindled to 32 airplanes, a figure that represents some two years of production at the current rate. Boeing has progressively culled rates on the 747-8 since April 2013, when it announced a decision to slow production from two airplanes to 1.75 per month. In October that same year it announced plans to reduce the rate to 1.5 per month, then in December last year it decided to slow the rate to 1.3 effective this September.