Boeing's Muilenburg says confident about $25 billion in deferred 787 costs

Workers at South Carolina Boeing work on a 787 Dreamliner for Air India at the plant's final assembly building in North Charleston, South Carolina December 19, 2013. REUTERS/Randall Hill

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co Chief Operating Officer Dennis Muilenburg said on Monday that the company remains very confident about its estimated $25 billion in deferred costs for its 787 Dreamliner. He said the deferred cost balance will begin to decline as the company hits a 12-a-month production rate for the high-tech jet, which Boeing has said it expects to reach in mid-2016. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott)