Q: What is happening with Boeing’s 767 freighter line in Everett in May 2026, and why does it matter for Snohomish County aerospace workers?
A: FedEx is scheduled to take delivery of its final two 767-300F freighters out of Boeing’s Everett widebody factory by May 31, 2026, fulfilling the last contractual obligations of a 15-aircraft order that began in 2024. Combined with UPS taking its remaining 10 firm orders through the rest of 2026, these are among the final commercial 767 freighters Boeing will build before the program sunsets in 2027. For the roughly 1,000 Everett workers who touch the 767 line, the immediate future is shifting from 767-300F production to the KC-46A Pegasus tanker — built on the same 767-2C airframe in the same building — and to change-incorporation rework on stored 777-9s. The Everett widebody footprint is not shrinking. It is consolidating.
It is one of the quieter milestones to come out of Paine Field this year, and one of the most consequential for the Snohomish County aerospace workforce: by May 31, 2026, FedEx Express is contractually scheduled to take delivery of the final two 767-300F freighters in its long-running order book with Boeing. That delivery ends a 15-aircraft tranche that began in 2024 and brings FedEx’s 767 fleet to 137 active aircraft.
UPS, which entered 2026 with 10 firm orders remaining, will work through its book over the rest of the calendar year. Combined with three unidentified-customer slots Boeing still has on the books, those deliveries effectively close out commercial 767-300F production. Boeing’s plan, confirmed in October 2024 and reiterated through 2025, is to end commercial 767 freighter production in 2027. The KC-46A Pegasus tanker — built on the 767-2C airframe in the same Everett building — will be the only 767 variant in production after that point.
What May 31, 2026 Actually Closes
Boeing’s Everett widebody factory has been quietly winding down 767-300F deliveries since 2024. FedEx, which by far has been the largest 767-300F customer of the past decade, agreed under its delivery schedule to take three 767-300Fs by May 31, 2024, ten more by May 31, 2025, and the final two by May 31, 2026. That last pair represents the end of a customer relationship that has shipped more than 150 freighters from Paine Field to FedEx hubs over the program’s life.
UPS, with 10 firm 767-300Fs still on the books at the start of 2026, is expected to take its remaining aircraft throughout the year. Three additional 767-300Fs sit on order from an unidentified customer.
What Boeing has not done — despite an FAA reauthorization-bill exemption that would have allowed 767 freighter production to continue until January 1, 2033 — is restart the order book. Company leadership chose in 2024 to sunset commercial 767 production in 2027 even with the regulatory runway available.
For workers on the Everett widebody floor, that means the question is not whether the 767 line continues. The question is what happens to the people, the tooling, and the building space when it stops.
Why the Building Is Not Going Quiet
Three production programs share the Everett widebody factory, and only one of them is leaving.
The KC-46A Pegasus tanker is built on the 767-2C airframe — the same fundamental aircraft, with different mission systems. As of April 3, 2026, the U.S. Air Force has accepted delivery of 105 KC-46A Pegasus aircraft out of a contracted 169, with a planned fleet of 263. Boeing was awarded a Lot 12 contract in November 2025 for 15 additional tankers valued at $2.47 billion. With more than 100 aircraft still to deliver, the KC-46 line will be running well into the 2030s. Israel’s first international KC-46, named Gideon, completed delivery from Paine Field earlier this month — a marker that international orders are increasingly part of the Everett tanker future.
The 777 widebody program continues to ship 777 Freighters and is now ramping up its 777-9 production-conforming aircraft for type certification testing. Boeing’s pending FAA emissions exemption decision could keep the existing 777F line in production past the late-2027 ICAO cutoff, which would protect a substantial slice of the Everett widebody freighter workforce.
The 777-9 stored-aircraft rework backlog represents an emerging workload that did not exist in earlier Everett-line transitions. Boeing has more than 30 production 777-9s parked at Paine Field that will require change incorporation — system updates, structural modifications, and fixes identified during flight testing — before any of them can be delivered. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has publicly said that backlog will take “years” to clear.
What This Looks Like on the Factory Floor
Boeing has not publicly disclosed exact 767-line headcount, but program-level analysis from labor research and SPEEA membership data places the population that directly touches the 767-300F and KC-46A lines at roughly 1,000 mechanics, engineers, and quality inspectors in Everett. Many of those workers are dual-qualified across the 767-300F and KC-46A — a reality of how Boeing has operated the shared 767 architecture since the KC-46 program launched.
That dual qualification is the structural reason the 767-300F sunset does not equal mass displacement. When the commercial freighter slots disappear, the same workers who built them are already certified to build KC-46A airframes. The KC-46 backlog plus the Lot 12 contract gives that work somewhere to land.
What changes is the mix. Commercial freighter production has a cadence — typically two to three aircraft per month at the 767-300F’s peak — that defense production rarely matches. KC-46A deliveries have run between roughly 12 and 15 aircraft per year in recent program history. So while the bodies stay in the building, the rhythm slows.
The Stored-Fleet Pivot
The new variable in this transition is the 777-9 stored-fleet backlog. With 30-plus production 777-9s parked at Paine Field awaiting change incorporation, Boeing has effectively created a second production-style workstream that needs hands-on mechanical, electrical, and avionics labor — work that overlaps significantly with the skills 767 mechanics already have.
Boeing has not announced a formal redeployment plan for 767-line workers into the 777-9 rework effort. But the company’s $54 million purchase of the 6001 36th Avenue building in Everett in early May 2026, and its broader land consolidation around the Paine Field footprint, suggest a workforce strategy that keeps people in place across program transitions rather than letting them follow the program out the door.
What Snohomish County Suppliers Should Be Watching
The 767 supply chain is global, but a meaningful slice of it lives in Snohomish County. The Port of Everett moves 767 fuselage sections and large components. Local tier-2 suppliers fabricate interior, structural, and electrical assemblies that go into both the 767-300F and the KC-46A. Those orders do not disappear after May 31 — they shift program codes.
For suppliers, the actionable signal in the May 31 milestone is this: Boeing’s commercial 767-300F purchase orders will not be reissued. KC-46A purchase orders, especially under the Lot 12 contract, are active and growing. Suppliers should also be watching the 777-9 certification phase milestones, because once the program clears Phase 4B and Phase 5 and the F&R + ETOPS gates, the change-incorporation rework on stored aircraft becomes a defined parts-and-labor workload with predictable demand.
What Workers Should Be Doing in the Next 90 Days
If you work on the 767-300F line at Everett, the most useful next move is to confirm with your supervisor and your IAM 751 steward whether you are already cross-qualified on KC-46A, on 777 widebody assembly, or on 777-9 modification work. Cross-qualification is not new at Boeing Everett — it has been the operating model since the KC-46 program shared the floor with the 767-300F. But individual qualification records vary, and the 90-day window before FedEx’s final delivery is the cleanest moment to audit your own status.
For SPEEA-represented engineers and technical workers, the equivalent question is which program your skills are currently coded against in Boeing’s internal workforce planning system. SPEEA’s 2026 bargaining season is open, and one of the union’s stated priorities is protecting skill portability across program transitions.
The Larger Picture for Everett
The 767-300F sunset is the third major commercial widebody transition Everett has navigated in the past decade. The 747 ended in 2023. The 787 final assembly moved to South Carolina in 2021. Now the commercial 767 freighter follows.
What is different this time is the inflow. The 737 MAX North Line is scheduled to open in mid-summer 2026, adding a single-aisle program to a factory that has historically been widebody-only. The 777-9 is approaching first delivery in Q1 2027 with Lufthansa. The KC-46A defense work continues. And the 777-9 stored-aircraft rework represents an emerging multi-year workload.
The Everett widebody factory is not getting smaller. It is getting more diverse. May 31, 2026, marks the end of one chapter — the FedEx 767-300F book — but it does not mark the end of the building.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When will the last commercial Boeing 767-300F leave Everett?
The last commercial 767-300F is scheduled to leave the Everett line in 2027, after Boeing fulfills its remaining order book of 21 aircraft (FedEx final 2, UPS 10, plus 3 unidentified-customer plus other slots remaining). FedEx’s final two are due by May 31, 2026. After commercial 767-300F production ends in 2027, the 767-2C airframe will continue in production as the KC-46A Pegasus tanker.
Q: How many 767 freighters does FedEx currently operate?
FedEx has 137 Boeing 767 freighters flying in its network as of early 2026, with the final two scheduled for delivery by May 31, 2026. After that final delivery, FedEx will operate approximately 139 of the type.
Q: Will Boeing 767 production at Everett completely stop in 2027?
No. Commercial 767-300F freighter production will end in 2027, but Boeing will continue building the KC-46A Pegasus tanker on the 767-2C airframe in the same Everett building. With 105 of 169 KC-46As delivered and a Lot 12 contract for 15 more awarded in November 2025, the KC-46 line will run well into the 2030s.
Q: How many Snohomish County jobs depend on the 767 line?
Boeing does not publicly disclose 767-specific headcount, but analysis from SPEEA membership data and labor research places the workforce that directly touches the 767-300F and KC-46A lines at roughly 1,000 mechanics, engineers, and quality inspectors. Most are dual-qualified across both variants.
Q: What is the FAA exemption that Boeing requested for the 767F?
Boeing has sought an FAA emissions exemption that would allow continued production of the existing 777F freighter past the late-2027 ICAO emissions cutoff. The 767F has a separate FAA reauthorization-bill exemption that would have allowed production through January 1, 2033, but Boeing chose in 2024 not to use that runway and sunset the program in 2027.
Q: What happens to the 30+ stored Boeing 777-9 aircraft at Paine Field?
Boeing has more than 30 production 777-9s parked at Paine Field awaiting change incorporation — system updates, structural modifications, and fixes identified during flight testing. CEO Kelly Ortberg has publicly said the rework backlog will take years to clear. The work overlaps significantly with the skills 767 line mechanics already have, which is one path for redeploying 767-line workers as commercial 767-300F production winds down.
Q: Is the 737 MAX North Line going to replace the 767 line in Everett?
No, they are different programs in different parts of the Everett footprint. The 737 MAX North Line, scheduled to open mid-summer 2026, is a single-aisle line that adds production capacity in Everett separate from the existing widebody operations. The 767 / KC-46A / 777 widebody lines continue in their existing factory positions.
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