Production halts in China last month caused by the COVID-19 outbreak have resulted in iPhone shortages in some US stores, according to market analysts.
Fortunately, Apple’s top contract manufacturer said today it’s ramping production back up.
iPhone shortage was probably inevitable
It’s not as easy to get an iPhone as it usually is. “Our latest carrier survey indicated that iPhone shipments to carrier stores have been materially disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak in China,” wrote KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh in a note to investors.
Verizon and AT&T stores in New York City have been experiencing an iPhone shortage for at least a week, according to the New York Post. And parts needed to repair these handsets are also in short supply.
More iPhones are coming
As Vinh said, the current iPhone shortages are the result of the COVID-19 epidemic. It started in China, and the companies that assemble Apple products in that country — both Foxconn and Broadcom — had to close their plants for a time.
However, Foxconn founder Terry Gou said today that supplies to assembly plants in China and in Vietnam have returned to normal. And efforts to get plants going again have “exceeded our expectations.”
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
