787-10 to be built in South Carolina only

Boeing announced today that it will assemble the 787-10 Dreamliner exclusively in its factory in North Charleston, South Carolina. It will continue to assemble both 787-8s and 787-9s in Everett, Wash. In North Charleston, however, all three models of the Dreamliner will be built. Design of the 787-10 is underway in Everett, with final assembly of the first 787-10 scheduled to begin in South Carolina in 2017.

The 787-10 is the newest and longest member of the 787 Dreamliner family. It will be 18 feet (5.5 meters) longer than the 787-9. With 10 feet (3 meters) of that increase in the midbody section, the 787-10 midbody is too long to be transported efficiently from North Charleston, where systems integration work is performed, to the Everett facility for final assembly. One of the reasons that Boeing started building aircraft in North Charleston some years ago was that the workers here are nonunion.

The 787 production system includes three production lines: two in Everett (including a temporary surge line) and one in South Carolina. The integrated production system currently operates at a production rate of 10 airplanes per month. As announced last year, the 787 production rate will increase to 12 airplanes per month in 2016 and 14 per month by the end of the decade. The Everett facility will continue to assemble seven airplanes per month, while Boeing South Carolina final assembly will gradually increase from three 787s per month today to five per month in 2016 and seven per month by the end of the decade.

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