Boeing to add fourth 737 Max assembly line

Boeing will add a fourth assembly line to produce more 737 Max aircraft as it tries to quickly convert a backlog of orders into cash-generating deliveries of new planes.

A memo to employees from Stan Deal, the CEO of Boeing's commercial-planes business, said the new line will open in the second half of next year.

The line will be located in an existing facility in Everett, Washington, where space is available because Boeing is moving production of larger 787 s to South Carolina and ending production of the iconic 747.

The plant is located about 40 miles north of Boeing's other 737 assembly lines in the Seattle suburb of Renton, one of which has been idle but is being reactivated, Deal said. He said the company is not relocating the entire 737 program, just adding capacity, especially for newer models of the Max.

It was grounded for nearly two years after two deadly crashes involving a flight control system that Boeing later overhauled. Boeing has landed large orders from the United States, Delta, Southwest and foreign airlines after U.S. regulators cleared the Max to resume flying.