Boeing 777F output halted for nearly two months over supplier dispute

Reuters reported on 23 October that Boeing had not built any 777 freighters for nearly two months because of a dispute with Vaero, a Florida-based supplier of trailing-edge rib kits for wings. In an August complaint, Boeing said Vaero had stopped deliveries, stalling work at its Everett, Washington, wing facility; Boeing called the part indispensable and Vaero its only source. The complaint put the cost at up to $6.5 million a day.

The companies settled in late September, but three Boeing workers told Reuters that 777F production had not restarted. One said the 767 line had received some parts since the settlement. Boeing pulled two partly assembled 777 Freighters off the final assembly line, according to Reuters; Reuters, using IBA data, identified one as destined for FedEx. Two workers said some freighters whose wings were assembled before the dispute could still be delivered by the end of the year.

The dispute also disrupted 767 output, including freighters and KC-46 tankers. Boeing is now trying to make the rib kits in-house. Boeing delivered 21 777 Freighters so far this year and 35 in 2025, according to company data cited by Reuters; the 777F backlog stood at 38 at the end of September. Boeing booked six 777F orders so far in 2026, from China Airlines, China Southern Cargo and Ethiopian.

The 777F is also Boeing's bridge to the 777-8F, which is not yet certified. Boeing targets entry into service in 2029, while some customers expect 2030. Under ICAO-based emissions rules, the GE90-powered 777F would have gone out of production at the end of 2027; Boeing won an FAA exemption allowing up to 35 more 777Fs to be certified between 1 January 2028 and the end of 2030.