With the arrival of the fourth quarter of a year, the market usually sees a rise in smartphone production to cover sales during the holiday season. But now, Apple seems to be facing various supply chain issues that has caused it to slow down the production of its iPhones.
According to a Nikkei Asia’s ‘Nightmare Before Christmas‘ report, the Cupertino based giant’s primary suppliers Foxconn, Pegatron, and others have slowed down production for the first time in over a decade. Apparently, the suppliers’ workers are getting more off time, rather than overtime, which is common during the year end period. Nikkei added that “two years of lockdowns, chip shortages, and energy cuts have finally caught up with the iPhone maker.”
For those unaware, workers usually work overtime during the holiday season as the period generally records some of the highest sales for the iPhone maker. Furthermore, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, had previously said that the supply constraints back when the new iPhone lineup launched had also costed the company a whopping 6 billion US Dollars. The primary reason for this shortage was due to the ongoing global shortage of chipsets. Nikkei’s report further added that the brand had to cut the 2021 iPhone production target by more than 10 million units after Broadcom and Texas Instruments were enable to deliver the required components.
In other words, the lack of even the smallest components can cause a major delay. The ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ report even had Nikkei dive deep by interviewing over 20 industry executives to find out what caused the company’s production to take a hit. As of right now, the production goal is still short by 20 percent of Apple’s original target as its struggles with the restrictions on power in China, lockdowns in Vietnam and Malaysia, and supply constraints due to the rising demand for chips in the market.
Notably, the iPad production fared even worse with the company producing only 50 percent of its original estimations. The shortage for parts stretched till the month of November , so customers who order now, would likely be unable to get their new tablet by the time for Christmas. Delivery times for some of its most popular electronic gadgets have also reached till January 2022 now. On the other hand, sources close to the matter have stated that the company is apparently asking its suppliers to reaccelerate iPhone production for the month of November, December, and January.
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