100 Apple Suppliers Hit by Lockdown; Tech Production at Complete Halt

Urian B., Tech Times 20 April 2022, 11:04 am

Apple has been one of the companies that were hit heavily by the imposed lockdowns in China over COVID-19. 100 of the Cupertino giant's suppliers had to put tech production to a complete halt to follow the mandates regarding the lockdown.

Apple Products Could be Affected by the Strict Lockdowns Imposed in China

According to the story by 9to5Mac, were not only high-profile companies that took charge of the assembly process affected but also critical component suppliers. A warning was issued by a top Chinese tech executive saying production within the areas affected by the lockdown will be completely halted unless changes are made within 10 days.

The Chinese government's imposing of these strict lockdowns was a move to try to eradicate the COVID-19 virus from the country. This move is in contrast to that of other countries that are relying more on vaccines and milder measures to stop the virus from spreading.

Facilities in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Kunshan Saw Lockdowns

Shenzhen's lockdown even forced Foxconn to put a pause on the assembly of its iPhone at two of its plants. Although affected, the company was still able to switch to backup facilities despite being badly hit.

Shanghai and Kunshan lockdowns saw the halt of Apple production at three of the company's other suppliers. Foxconn's assembly facility at Zhengzhou for Apple's iPhone has so far remained unaffected.

100 Out of 200 Apple Suppliers Affected by the Lockdowns

Apple officially publishes a list of its suppliers each year, and an analyst from Nikkei Asia found out that at least half of all 200 Apple suppliers were affected by the lockdowns. The affected suppliers by the lockdowns imposed in China number around 100.

Over 70 companies own manufacturing plants located in the Jiangsu Province that supply Apple as per the supplier list. Other 30 suppliers have facilities located in Shanghai which are not considered the epicenter of China's COVID-19 surge.

Supply Chain Cutoff Could Become the Worst Case Scenario

The affected suppliers are responsible for making components, including boards, thermal parts, printed circuit boards, batteries, thermal parts, and even acoustic components for Apple products. These components are extremely critical when it comes to the production of Apple's products.

As per AU Optronics head of display, the lockdowns could result in a supply chain cutoff as a worst-case scenario. This problem would then extend to the most critical part of the pipeline which is the products themselves.

Other basic materials like carton boxes remain in serious shortage. Even Richard Yu, the head of consumer tech at Huawei, stated that should Shanghai not be able to resume its production by May, all of the players in the tech and industrial sectors that still have supply chains in the area will have to come to a complete halt.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.