TAIPEI – Production of MacBooks and iPads has been delayed due to global shortage of components, Nikkei Asia has learned, in a sign that even Apple, with its massive purchasing power, is not immune to the unprecedented supply crisis .
The chip shortage has caused delays in a key step in MacBook production – mounting components on printed circuit boards before final assembly – informed sources told Nikkei Asia. Some iPad assemblies, meanwhile, have been delayed due to a lack of displays and display components, sources said.
Due to the delay, Apple rejected some of the component orders for the two devices from the first half of this year to the second half, people said. Industry sources and experts say the delays are a sign that the lack of chips is getting worse and could have a greater impact on smaller tech players.
Apple is known for its expertise in managing one of the most complicated supply chains in the world and for the speed with which it can mobilize suppliers. This has helped the company withstand a global shortage of components that is already squeezing carmakers and electronics makers alike.
Production plans for Apple’s iconic iPhones have so far not been affected by the lack of supply, although the supply of components for the devices is “quite tight”, according to two sources. Overall, the lack of components remains a supply chain issue for Apple and has not yet had an impact on consumer product availability, Nikkei said.
Apple declined to comment on the story.
Apple’s rival Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, recently confirmed that the lack of chips could be problematic for the company between April and June, adding that it has teams of employees working non-stop to solve the problem.
Big players like Apple, Samsung Electronics and HP have a lot of leverage with suppliers to demand that their orders be given priority when capacity is limited, said Peter Hanbury, a partner at Bain & Co.. “They have also developed a sophisticated supply chain and supply capabilities, including collaborative planning with semiconductor production partners and strong visibility of where their products are manufactured, so that they can see ahead of such shortcomings.” he said.
Now, however, “demand for some of these large product categories has exceeded the total available capacity,” Hanbury added. “It simply came to our notice then [as their chip suppliers and production partners] to add manufacturing capacity that lasts for years and billions of dollars. “
Apple sells about 200 million iPhones, over 20 million MacBooks, 19 million iPads and over 70 million pairs of AirPods a year – all in the top five globally in their respective consumer electronics segments – making the company one of the strongest purchasing forces in the world.
Apple is the fourth largest laptop maker in the world, with a market share of 7.6%, following Lenovo Group Holding, HP and Dell in 2020. Apple iPads, meanwhile, are the clear leader in the tablet market, with a share of 32.5% last year, followed by Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo and Amazon, IDC data showed.
The fact that the supply crisis has spread to MacBooks and iPads – two key elements of Apple – shows that the lack of components remains a serious problem and could give a more severe blow to technology players who have less bargaining power and expertise in managing the supply chain. supply than the American company, industry executives, told Nikkei Asia.
“We really don’t see the end of this shortage, and things could be even worse, given the end of the June quarter, because some smaller tech players could run out of some critical inventory to build their products and should extends back to production, “said Wallace Gou, president and CEO of Silicon Motion, a chip developer for the NAND flash memory controller that supplies Samsung, Western Digital, Micron, Kingston and many more.
PC demand remains strong this year, as the economy of the home state caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues to flourish. The global computer market is expected to grow by more than 18% this year, after expanding to a rapid clip of almost 13% last year, according to research agency IDC.
However, the US, Japan and Germany have called on Taiwan and South Korea, the two key chip-producing economies, to help prioritize chips for the auto industry, which is crucial to the global economy. This further squeezed the production of semiconductors for consumer electronics and computer products.