On 28th March of this year, the renowned Apple Analyst for the past decade, Ming-Chi Kuo stated that Shanghai’s recent lockdown had no effect on the production of iPhone SE, though it did influence consumer demand for the iPhone.
On 11 April, Kuo tweeted again about the situation regarding China’s lockdown and Apple’s almost inevitable production halt. The research analyst stated that the assembly lines have begun to get affected as Pegatron; the second largest supply chain company working with Apple, has already slowed down assembly of products in Shanghai as well as in Kunshan in China. The best possible scenario, according to Kuo, is complete resumption of production in these two factories happening in late April or early May, though it is rather optimistic given the state of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
(1/4) China's COVID-19 lockdown is starting to affect iPhone assembly. Pegatron, the 2nd largest iPhone EMS, has already halted assembly in Shanghai & Kunshan. In the best-case scenario, complete resumption of production may not be possible until late April or early May. https://t.co/KRviniJohq
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) April 11, 2022
As for Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier with many Chinese employees, it has not yet seen any changes considering the Shanghai lockdown. Foxconn is currently filling the near-term supply gap following the Pegatron slowdown. Foxconn is playing a major role in keeping the impact of Pegatron’s production halt rather short-term and limited, given that it maintains regular operations during Pegatron’s recovery period.
Going further, Kuo also reassured that Apple has the capability to minimize the lockdown’s impact on supply. Kuo spoke strongly about the company’s strong supply chain management and reaffirmed of their good relationship with the Chinese government.
Despite Ming-Chi Kuo’s strong faith in Apple’s ability to bounce back to peak performance, the analyst also highlighted in his tweet that consumer confidence could be affected by how long the lockdown lasts.
“However, the longer the lockdown lasts, the further effect on consumer confidence would likely raise and would probably be detrimental to the shipments of consumer electronics (including Apple products) in 2H22.”, Kuo mentioned in his closing remarks.
