If you order a refurb unit, they seem to ship form California. At least the few Apple refurb things we ordered came from there. We are on the west coast, directly north of California - but everything seems to need to go visit the east before being delivered. It is oh so frustrating to watch the tracking info show your new unit within a hundred or two kilometres - and then get shipped thousands of kilometres east before returning to the coast.
When my brother ordered his base model 13" (no customization) it shipped directly from Ontario.
When I ordered my customized 15" it shipped from China.
It was very quick to deliver for the 13" so my theory is that they have a stockpile of base model macs in a warehouse in Ontario and ship right away whereas customized ones take longer because they need to be built over in China.
Hmmm... thanks for the information. Hopefully mine will ship from Ontario, since it is not customized. I've already had to delay ordering it a couple of times, so I'm getting anxious to get it finally!