The Shipping News: A Shorter Wait for the New iPad

Third-generation iPad supply and demand aren’t yet in balance, but they may be soon if estimated shipping times at Apple’s online store are any indication.

After falling to five to seven days from one to two weeks, ship times on the new iPad today dropped once more, this time to three to five business days. That’s a significant improvement over the wait time customers had to endure when the tablet first debuted in mid-March and a strong indication that Apple is working hard to ramp up production to meet demand, despite the supply constraints CEO Tim Cook mentioned during the company’s earnings call last week.

“The new iPad … was supply constrained last quarter for the full three weeks or so it was shipping,” Cook said. “And to give you a current view, we’re still supply constrained on the new iPad.”

But not nearly as much as it once was — in the United States, anyway. International shipping windows still aren’t as short as they are in the States. Apple’s online stores in the U.K. and other European nations still show iPad shipping estimates of one to two weeks.

[Image credit: Kominyetska/Flickr]