IPad Ship Times Hold Steady Following Foxconn Tragedy
Though the deadly explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, China, last Friday will certainly have some effect on Apple’s iPad supply chain, it will likely be short-term. Foxconn’s resources are vast, and analysts say the company could easily compensate for any shortfall caused by the tragedy at Chengdu by ramping up idle capacity at other plants.
“Our current view is that this tragedy is likely to have some impact on iPad 2 production; however, we believe [Foxconn] has the flexibility to shift manufacturing back to the Shenzhen facility if necessary,” Ticonderoga analyst Brian White said in a note to clients. “As such, we currently don’t expect a material impact to Apple’s iPad 2 shipments.”
Stern Agee analyst Shaw Wu echoed White’s take in a note of his own, dismissing concerns that the blast will materially impact iPad production as overdone. “From our checks with industry and supply chain sources, there are at least two facilities that produce iPads (the other being Shenzhen) with plans to add more,” he wrote. “Our sources indicate that production is being ramped at Shenzhen to make up for a potential shortfall at its Chengdu plant.”
Meanwhile, iPad ship times continue to hold steady at 1-2 weeks, the same shipping window they had before the explosion.
[Image credit: Kominyetska/Flickr]
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