Boeing delivered 60 airplanes in May, including 51 737 Maxes and six 787 Dreamliners.

That’s a dramatic increase from the month before, when it delivered 47 airplanes, including 34 Maxes and six Dreamliners.

Though Boeing is increasing the production rate for its Renton-built 737 Max — with plans to move from a rate of 42 planes per month to 47 this summer — the sharp jump from April to May also reflects the impact of an earlier wiring issue. That issue meant some Maxes already moving through the production system had to be repaired before delivery, leading to a dip in Max deliveries in earlier months this year and contributing to the increase last month.

Boeing said in March it had discovered small scratches on the wires of some Max planes caused by a machining error. That briefly held up Max deliveries as the plane-maker worked on a solution, but executives maintained the issue would not impact the company’s annual delivery expectations. It instead would shift some deliveries to the right as mechanics repaired the affected planes.

Boeing’s Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave said in March the issue likely affected about 25 Max planes.

In the first five months of this year, Boeing delivered 198 Maxes, compared to 164 in the same five months of 2025 and 101 in the same period in 2024. That year, Boeing was still reeling from a midair panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines Max plane, leading the manufacturer to significantly slow its production rate.

Boeing has worked since then to increase production in increments of five. The Federal Aviation Administration capped its Max production at 38 planes per month after the panel blowout and approved a rate increase to 42 in October.

Last month, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors at a financial conference that the plane-maker had completed a capstone review with the FAA for its next rate increase to 47 Maxes per month.

Though it will take a few months to consistently churn out 47 planes, Ortberg said then, “we’re off and rolling now.”

Boeing’s monthly delivery rate is a proxy for how quickly it is producing planes, though it is not an exact comparison. Some nearly-complete planes are not delivered in the same month that they are worked on in the factory, like in the case of the Max planes that required repairs after the wiring issue.

Similarly, in its South Carolina factory, where Boeing produces the 787, delays in certifications for some interior seats have held up deliveries. Boeing is working to increase its 787 production from a rate of about eight per month to 10 per month this year.

Boeing’s 787 delivery total has increased from three in February to seven in March and six each in April and May.

In addition to the six 787s and 51 737 Maxes, Boeing last month delivered one 737 NG to its defense division, one 767 freighter to FedEx and one 777 freighter to cargo carrier National Airlines.

Last month, Boeing fell behind its European rival Airbus in monthly and year-to-date deliveries. While Boeing delivered 60 airplanes in May and 250 airplanes in the first five months of the year, Airbus delivered 81 planes in May and 262 in the first five months of the year.

On the orders front, Airbus booked 379 gross orders in May while Boeing recorded 27.

But through the end of May, Boeing booked 295 orders after cancellations, marking its second highest order total for the first five months of a year. Its highest order total in that period came last year, when it booked 512 orders after cancellations.

Of those 27 orders last month, three were for the 737 Max, 10 for the 787 Dreamliner and 14 for the 737 NG for an unidentified Boeing defense customer.

Boeing also reported 16 Max order cancellations last month.

Adjusting for accounting principles that moved 11 orders out of Boeing's reserve and into its backlog, the plane-maker reported 22 net orders in May.

Last month, Boeing announced it had secured an order from China for 200 airplanes, the first order from the country in nearly a decade. President Donald Trump first announced the agreement during his visit to Beijing, before Boeing later confirmed the news. The official orders will come later in the year as Boeing works with individual airlines in China to iron out the specifics.

Ortberg joined Trump on the Beijing trip and said at the May financial conference that the order was a “good start.

“My primary objective was to reopen that market to our narrowbody airplanes … and we accomplished that,” Ortberg said.

Boeing's backlog moved from 6,216 as of April 30 to 6,178 as of May 31.

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