A380 Build Problems
Boeing's being quiet for several reasons, I'm sure. But one of them must be that they're concerned that the 'build sequence' issues that A380 is suffering from will happen to the 787.
Boeing's strategy of pushing the subassembly build back up the supplier foodchain (so that they can put the big bits together in a few days once they get to Everett) was and is ambitious - perhaps even more so than the similar arrangements that Airbus have for the 380. While I was attending build planning meetings at Boeing over a year ago there was a steady drift of work sliding from the supplier locations down the build sequence line toward final assembly in Washington. Effort was being applied to having this drift 'caught' at the intermediate build locations before shipping to Everett.
But this work will continue to slide downhill - and there will be a great deal of out-of-sequence work done on the first 50+ 787's. This was being planned for, in the same way that Airbus planned for it. Airbus didn't get it right - and Boeing may not either.