Reuters Exclusive: Boeing Supplier Dispute Has Halted 777 Freighter Production for Nearly Two Months, 767 Line Also Hit
SEATTLE, Washington — Boeing is headquartered in Seattle, King County. Reuters reported exclusively on October 23 that Boeing's dispute with a small Florida-based supplier, Vaero, has halted production of its 777 freighter for nearly two months and disrupted output of the 767, including freighters and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers, according to Boeing workers and court filings. The production halt had not previously been reported.
Boeing filed a complaint in August alleging that Vaero had stopped delivering a critical wing component known as the trailing-edge rib kit, stalling work at the Everett, Washington, wing-production facility that supports the 777 freighter and 767 programs. The complaint said the part was "indispensable" and Vaero was the sole supplier, and that the disruption was costing Boeing as much as $6.5 million a day.
Although the companies reached a settlement in late September, production of the 777 freighter has yet to resume, according to three Boeing workers who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Since the settlement, Boeing has received some parts for the 767 line. Without the Vaero parts, Boeing removed two partially assembled 777 freighters from its final assembly line; using data from aviation consultancy IBA, Reuters identified one of the aircraft as destined for FedEx.
Boeing is trying to bring production of the trailing-edge rib kit in-house, according to people familiar with the matter. The component is used in wing assembly for the 767 and the current-generation 777 freighter; the 777X, which uses composite wings, has not been affected. Boeing declined to comment and Vaero did not respond to requests for comment. Boeing has delivered 21 777 freighters so far this year, and a handful of freighters whose wings were assembled before the dispute could still be delivered before year-end. The lawsuit was first reported by Law.com in August.
Source: GSM·America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：波音777货机试飞。摄影：Andrew W. Sieber，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: a Boeing 777 Freighter on a test flight, by Andrew W. Sieber, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
