Boeing 777F output idle for nearly two months amid supplier dispute, Reuters reports

Reuters reported on 23 October, citing Boeing workers and court filings, that Boeing had not built any 777 freighters for nearly two months because of a dispute with Vaero, a small Florida-based supplier of trailing-edge rib kits. The dispute also disrupted 767 output, including freighters and KC-46 tankers. In an August complaint, Boeing said Vaero had stopped delivering the kits, stalling wing work in Everett, Washington; Boeing called the part indispensable and said Vaero was its only source. The complaint put the cost at up to $6.5 million a day, and Boeing sought an injunction to force deliveries along with damages. The companies settled in late September.

Three workers told Reuters that 777F production had still not restarted after the settlement; one said the 767 line had received some parts. Boeing pulled two partly assembled 777 Freighters off final assembly, and aviation consultancy IBA data identified one as bound for FedEx, Reuters reported. Two workers said some freighters whose wings were assembled before the dispute could still be delivered by the end of the year. Boeing is trying to make the rib kits in-house; the part is used in wing assembly for the 767 and the current-generation 777F, while the composite-wing 777X is not affected.

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. The 777-8F is not yet certified; Boeing targets 2029 entry into service, 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, but Boeing obtained an FAA exemption allowing up to 35 more 777Fs to be certified from 1 January 2028 through the end of 2030.