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Shortages of Components and Labor Affecting iPhone and iPad Production?

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In a pair of reports today, DigiTimes claims that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn is experiencing shortages of both labor and component supplies required for iPhone and iPad production, with Apple also being among the companies still scrambling to secure component supplies in the face of increasing supply chain tightness resulting from the Japanese earthquake that has seen suppliers nearly run through any cushion they may have had.
Taiwan-based electronics manufacturing service (EMS) provider Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is reportedly facing a shortage of both labor and materials at its plants in Chengdu, China, which is likely to affect shipments of iPad 2 and iPhone 4 orders in the second quarter, according to sources from upstream component makers.
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According to the reports, Foxconn had planned 52 iPad production lines at its Chengdu plants capable of pumping out a total of at least 40 million units per year, but the component shortages and labor issues have meant that the manufacturer is falling short of Apple's current demands for 2.5-3 million units per month.

The component shortages stemming from the effects of the Japanese earthquake and the resulting country-wide power issues are said to have led to electronics manufacturers seeking to stockpile existing supplies of components while attempting to play down those moves lest suppliers realize the extent of the shortages and increase prices.
The sources pointed out that PC- and smartphone-related players have all claimed to have not seen any supply issues after the earthquake because of concerns that it might cause upstream players to panic and even raise their product prices, while trying to prevent the subject from impacting their new product launches. However, most of these makers have all been working on stocking their component inventory behind the scenes, the sources added.

The sources noted that several component suppliers are already close to having shortages with the real challenge expected to hit in June. The shortage crisis is also expected to bring issues such as rising costs and an increased rate of defective products in the future.
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Apple shipped 4.69 million iPads during the first quarter of 2011, well below what most observers were expecting. The shortfall was reportedly due to the production transition from the original iPad to the iPad 2, with several technical challenges including light leakage on displays from LG and speaker production issues also affecting shipments.

Article Link: Shortages of Components and Labor Affecting iPhone and iPad Production?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/12/shortages-of-components-and-labor-affecting-iphone-and-ipad-production/
iDisk

iDisk

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Jan 2, 2010
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Japan was a serious disaster .. what do we expect to happen? Apple is doing good with getting the products out in a timely fashion, the people who help manufacture the components are still in recovery and will be for awhile.

So what if you wait a few weeks for a device.
 
0

0087215

Cancelled
Sep 20, 2008
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"An increased rate of defective products in the future" as a consequence of this is quite shocking. More backlight bleeding iPad 2s = more unhappy customers.... :( I guess it is time to hurry up and buy an iPad/iPhone now.
 
Mattie Num Nums

Mattie Num Nums

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Labor shortages in China are happening at an alarming rate. It appears Chinese people believe they are worth more than the great Chairman thinks they are.
 
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M-O

M-O

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toddybody said:
+1

Id love Apple to be a positive example of American made electronics. Id definitely feel more at ease to paying their higher prices, if so.
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only prices would be much higher... probably $2000 for the base iPad...
 
Mattie Num Nums

Mattie Num Nums

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M-O said:
only prices would be much higher... probably $2000 for the base iPad...
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Thats BS. Ok American workers cost more. How about NON UNIONIZED workers. That would cut costs. Also I am sure the US Government would throw Apple a bone to move manufacturing to the US (not California of course since all of the Industrial restrictions would kill Apple.)
 
W

WestonHarvey1

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Jan 9, 2007
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toddybody said:
+1

Id love Apple to be a positive example of American made electronics. Id definitely feel more at ease to paying their higher prices, if so.
Click to expand...

And then all their competitors will finally be able to offer a tablet at a significantly lower price than Apple, erasing that advantage.
 
ChrisTX

ChrisTX

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Mattie Num Nums said:
Thats BS. Ok American workers cost more. How about NON UNIONIZED workers. That would cut costs. Also I am sure the US Government would throw Apple a bone to move manufacturing to the US (not California of course since all of the Industrial restrictions would kill Apple.)
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Just move all of the manufacturing to Texas, let's call it a day!
 
S

scott911

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Aug 24, 2009
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I wonder if the impact of the was part of the reason they pushed back the launch of the next iphone a few months... and maybe more.
 
T

Thunderhawks

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toddybody said:
+1

Id love Apple to be a positive example of American made electronics. Id definitely feel more at ease to paying their higher prices, if so.
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1) For the ipad you are not paying higher prices. Competitors are struggling to match the ipad's price and feature ratio.

2) That would not solve the availability of components. It's a shortage

3) All products would become more expensive if produced in the US.
Even when people say, I would pay more, they usually don't!

4) This discussion was already held in other threads. Many of the US laws are not conducive to building factories here.
By the time a State or area would be done with just the environmental review other countries built the plant already.
Add capital gains taxes, unions etc. etc. and you'll know why these plants are not here.

5) The type of labor the assembly of millions of pieces requires is not available in the US. (See Cato Institute studies)
The higher education workers will not do these jobs. The lower education workers we don't want near these jobs.
The majority of manual labor is almost in the hands of the hispanic community, who do this well.
(On a sarcastic note, ask an American worker to lift a few heavy boxes and they'll call OSHA to have it automated or pass a regulation)

"Buy American or produce American" is a patriotic phantasy and doesn't account for the fact that Americans have many jobs in importing and exporting, as well as work internationally. If all the countries would isolate themselves only doing "home based" production, innovation would stifle and we'd go backwards.

The concept of FREE enterprise should apply to everybody all over the world.

The business world is now heavily integrated and in the very end it's all about money and profits and share prices.

Nobody pays anybody for being "nice" and giving jobs!

Reality hurts:)
 
toddybody

toddybody

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M-O said:
only prices would be much higher... probably $2000 for the base iPad...
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Yeah it wouldnt.

WestonHarvey1 said:
And then all their competitors will finally be able to offer a tablet at a significantly lower price than Apple, erasing that advantage.
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Respectfully, I dont think so. Apple already has very high profit margins...more so than most competition. That 30% profit margin could be lessoned to facilitate American made goods and the additional cost associated with them. All that said, Im not coming from this with a financial argument, more so a moral one. I think it would be wonderful if Apple made the decision to support more American jobs (not that they dont provide many currently).

Mattie Num Nums said:
Thats BS. Ok American workers cost more. How about NON UNIONIZED workers. That would cut costs. Also I am sure the US Government would throw Apple a bone to move manufacturing to the US (not California of course since all of the Industrial restrictions would kill Apple.)
Click to expand...

Agreed
 
W

wtanders

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May 12, 2011
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The email I just got for an ipad order, and it was supposed to ship today:


MC770LL/A, IPAD WI-FI 32GB BLACK-USA
will now ship on or before
May 26, 2011

Please note that product availability can change rapidly, and it is
possible that your order may ship much sooner than we anticipate. You
may even receive a shipment confirmation between the time we send this
email and the time that you read it.

You will receive an email notification once your order has been shipped.
We encourage you to visit: <http://www.apple.com/orderstatus>.

We appreciate your business and apologize for any inconvenience this
delay may have caused you.

The Apple Store For Education
 
W

WestonHarvey1

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Jan 9, 2007
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toddybody said:
Respectfully, I dont think so. Apple already has very high profit margins...more so than most competition. That 30% profit margin could be lessoned to facilitate American made goods and the additional cost associated with them. All that said, Im not coming from this with a financial argument, more so a moral one. I think it would be wonderful if Apple made the decision to support more American jobs (not that they dont provide many currently).
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I'm not sure why it's a moral argument. Disclaimer, I'm a jingoistic pro-American extreme right wing nutjob. I want America to succeed - but I want that to happen because we're the best and have created the true advantageous position through merit and not trickery.

That said, I don't understand why I should want someone in China to be unemployed just so an American can have a job. They're human beings with families to feed. I also don't necessarily want my children to toil away in a factory. I feel bad for the Chinese that have to.
 
Mattie Num Nums

Mattie Num Nums

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WestonHarvey1 said:
That said, I don't understand why I should want someone in China to be unemployed just so an American can have a job. They're human beings with families to feed. I also don't necessarily want my children to toil away in a factory. I feel bad for the Chinese that have to.
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Because we are stimulating China's economy not our own. I know you say you are a right winged red blooded American but that statement was more bleeding heart liberal American. The whole idea behind bringing production to America is to not only stimulate our economy but also to reap the benefits that offers. It would bring more jobs, better jobs, more opportunities, and most importantly more income through Taxes that could help us get out of the trillions of dollars in debt we are in. I would also venture to say moving production here would be greener because of our Environmental regulations and using less fuel and resources moving product from another country. I know the last was a stretch but it is something to thing about.
 
W

WestonHarvey1

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Jan 9, 2007
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Mattie Num Nums said:
Because we are stimulating China's economy not our own. I know you say you are a right winged red blooded American but that statement was more bleeding heart liberal American.
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But what is wrong with stimulating another country's economy? Are we all to be self-sufficient isolationists? If it is possible and preferable, then fine. But if cheaper products are available elsewhere, why shouldn't we prefer it?

When you pay less for an iPad, you have more money to buy something else.
 
Mattie Num Nums

Mattie Num Nums

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WestonHarvey1 said:
But what is wrong with stimulating another country's economy? Are we all to be self-sufficient isolationists? If it is possible and preferable, then fine. But if cheaper products are available elsewhere, why shouldn't we prefer it?

When you pay less for an iPad, you have more money to buy something else.
Click to expand...

It has nothing to with being isolationists. If the American economy fails do you think China is going to reach out its loving hand to you and help pick you up. Is China going to help stimulate our economy? We need to take care of ourselves first and foremost because nobody else will. Its not being an isolationist its helping our people. Just like all these Celebs who goto Africa and pour millions into the poor in Africa when we have starving people dying in the streets here in the USA. I think all these bleeding hearts forget that we have Americans here who need food, jobs, and HOPE. Not false hope real hope. Apple bringing its production facilities back to the USA would bring a lot of nice High tech jobs for someone in the Tech field who is looking to get a foot in the door or some experience.
 
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