In early November, Apple released an unusual warning in which it said its customers “would have to wait longer for the new iPhone 14 Pro models.”
Apple is reportedly trying to shift production out of China, however, according to Catherine Thorbecke, reducing its significant dependency on China could take years.
“For years, Apple has relied on a vast manufacturing network in China to mass produce the iPhone, iPad and other popular products found in households around the world…But its dependence on the country has been tested this year by China’s “zero-Covid” strategy and strict lockdowns, including recently at the so-called iPhone City production hub in Zhengzhou,” she writes.
“I don’t think we can talk about any meaningful change beyond a few percent before 2025,” Gad Allon, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said.
“Apple would not be the company that it is today without China as a manufacturing base,” Eli Friedman, a professor at Cornell University whose research focuses on labor and development in China.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook, who helped build the company’s global supply chain, acknowledged the unique manufacturing strengths of China in one. In a 2015 interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that China has unique manufacturing strengths.
“You can take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in a room that we’re currently sitting in…In China, you would have to have multiple football fields,” he said.
According to Wharton’s Allon, another reason why Apple is really reluctant to rock the boat with China is that China is also a massive market for Apple. The company “reported $74 billion in sales in the Greater China market during the 12-month period ending in September, or nearly 20 per cent of its global sales for the year.”
