Boeing Says It Will Raise Production of the 737 Riding a surge in demand for new fuel-efficient planes, Boeing said on Thursday that it would increase production of its top-selling 737 jets to 47 a month by 2017, from 38 now. Boeing, based in Chicago, previously announced it would increase production of the single-aisle jets to 42 a month next year. The additional increase by 2017 will come as a new version of the plane, the 737 MAX, enters regular production, and will represent an increase of nearly 50 percent in monthly production since 2010. Airbus, Boeing's rival, now builds 42 of its competing A320 planes each month. A new version of those jets, called the A320neo, has gotten more advance orders so far than Boeing's 737 MAX. Both companies are pushing to build as many of the planes - among the smallest jets in their families - as they can to increase profits and ease huge order backlogs. Aircraft makers in China, Russia and other countries are hoping to break into the market with new planes of their own. Boeing and Airbus are turning to new engines and other fuel-saving technologies to hold on to their lead. Boeing said last week that the 737 MAX would offer a 14 percent fuel savings over today's most efficient single-aisle planes. Boeing has delivered more than 7,700 of its 737s since the late 1960s. Because it produces the planes so efficiently, they are highly profitable. Raising production will give Boeing more cash as it introduces new versions of its midsize 787 Dreamliner and undertakes a major redesign of its larger 777s. Boeing has been working with its suppliers to prepare for the production increases, hoping to avoid the parts shortages and other problems that delayed the initial Dreamliner deliveries by several years.