Apple expects lower shipments of new iPhone models
As previously reported by Evertiq, COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China. The facility is currently operating at a significantly reduced capacity.
Apple says in a statement that it continues to see strong demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models – but that it expects lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated. The company did not specify the scale of the reduction beyond that customers will have to wait longer to receive their new products.
"As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritising the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain," the Cupertino company writes in the statement.
Apple continues to state that the company is working closely with its supplier to return to normal production levels.
Reuters has previously reported that China's stricter COVID-19 restrictions might cause the production of the new iPhone models to decline by as much as 30% at Foxconn's Zhengzhou pant in central China.
Market intelligence firm TrendForce's investigations have shown that the iPhone production lines have climbed back to around 70% as the local outbreaks are being gradually brought under control.
However, returning their capacity utilisation rates to the normal level will still be difficult in the short term. The Zhengzhou base is Foxconn’s main production hub for the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models. Furthermore, the flow of orders for the Pro series is now at its peak. Hence, iPhone shipments will be lower than expected for 4Q22. TrendForce states that originally, the fourth-quarter iPhone shipment target was set at 80 million units. Due to the drop in the capacity utilisation rates of the production lines in Zhengzhou, the quarterly total iPhone shipments are now projected to drop by 2~3 million units. As for this year’s total iPhone shipments, they are now targeted at around 237 million units.
