Apple Forced to Halt Production in 'Nightmare Before Christmas' [Report]

For the first time in over a decade, Apple was forced to halt iPhone and iPad assembly for several days due to supply chain constraints and restrictions on power use in China, according to a new report from Nikkei.

At the beginning of October, when most of China shuts down for the Golden Week holidays, the factories run by Apple's most important suppliers usually go into overdrive. This is the week when Foxconn, Pegatron and others ramp up production to 24 hours a day, employing shift after shift of workers to pump out newly launched models of Apple's iPhone in time to capture holiday season demand. But it was different this year; workers got time off, not overtime.

"Due to limited components and chips, it made no sense to work overtime on holidays and give extra pay for front-line workers," a supply chain manager involved told Nikkei Asia. "That has never happened before. The Chinese golden holiday in the past was always the most hustling time when all of the assemblers were gearing up for production."




Nikkei says that Apple is falling millions of units short of production goals and losing out on billions of dollars of revenue. In some countries, it is now too late for customers to purchase Apple devices in time for Christmas.

Supply chain sources tell the site that production of the iPhone 13 fell 20% short of plans, even after Apple prioritized components for iPhone 13 at the expense of iPad, iPhone 12, and iPhone SE. iPad production reached just 50% of planned volume.

Apple is now expected to produce 83-85 million iPhone 13 units in 2021. That's down from an ambitious goal of 95 million.


More details in the full report linked below...

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