Apple’s supply of iPad 2s is clearly constrained, and it doesn’t look like that’s likely to change anytime soon. In fact, Apple’s ability to build more iPad 2s is expected to become even more constrained as at least two of the company’s core component suppliers in the region have temporarily shut down operations to assess damages caused by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
The two component suppliers in question appear to be the Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, who provide resin to Apple for iOS device circuit boards, as well as Toshiba, which provides Apple with its flash supplies.
The end result is it looks like Apple’s going to have an even harder time making new iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch’s for the rest of this quarter, and possibly well into next quarter. If true, that might make the iPhone 5 launch even more problematic and line-crazy than the iPad 2’s was.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
6 responses to “Munster: March 11th Tsunami Might Slow iPad and iPhone Production For Months”
This is just miss information to give apple an excuse.
“The two component suppliers in question appear to be the Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, who provide resin to Apple for iOS device circuit boards” – Resin is not hard to come by from other suppliers in Asia. and “Toshiba, which provides Apple with its flash supplies” – Utter BS the iPad ‘s have been and are all using Samsung Flash Nand chips. They are just dolling out this information to make it look like the shortage of iPad2’s is not their fault
Won’t these shutdowns affect the whole computer computer industry? Or does this shutdown only affect Apple? It just seems really strange that those companies are only supplying parts to Apple. I would think that with Apple’s cash reserve they could shift to other companies for supplies better than any other company could unless other companies don’t meet up to Apple standards.
Even if it turns out that these companies do not supply Apple, the customers of these suppliers will have to go elsewhere for these same supplies. That will push up the prices of the components over the whole market. So it may still impact Apple – if not their ability to produce products, then at least their profit margin.
Of course, it is difficult to talk about this. Personally I feel it is too soon. Somehow it feels wrong. The impact of the disaster on real people is far more important than the impact on some stupid consumer electronics device.
The ongoing disaster is horribly traumatic for millions of people. Personally, the last thing I care about in such a situation is Apple’s f*cking profit margins or some spoiled nerd whining about having to wait a few weeks to get their bloody iPad delivered (they won’t take too long to appear here in the comments I’m sure…).