iPhone 14 Pro: the manufacturing plant closed, shortages are to be expected

The Foxconn factory that manufactures the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is closed. The region has been placed in lockdown following a resurgence of Covid-19. The boss of the subcontractor fears that this will lead to a shortage of smartphones at the end of the year. Combined with high inflation and tense geopolitical conditions, this closure would also have another consequence: a drop in turnover.

In France, the Covid-19 continues to circulate. According to official figures, the virus circulated heavily in the country between September and October. But this is not enough to put in place the restrictions that we experienced in 2020 and 2021. For example, the mask remains strongly recommended in public transport, but not compulsory. On the other hand, in other countries, local containment measures are still in progress.

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This is particularly the case in China where the virus is very active since october. And it has continued to climb ever since. The number of new cases is at its highest in the last six months. Some regions are therefore again subject to containment. This is particularly the case in the metropolis of Zhengzhou, where there is a major Foxconn manufacturing plant. For several weeks, this factory no longer works. Several days before, thousands of workers had left their jobs there for fear of the virus. This same factory had already had to close in May 2022 for the same reasons.

The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will be hard to find this Christmas

You know it: Foxconn is Apple’s main iPhone manufacturing subcontractor. In the Zhengzhou plant, these are the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Mas produced there. Models which, according to Foxconn and Apple, will be more difficult to find in stores at the end of the year. A blow for the Cupertino company, a large part of whose sales is concentrated in the last calendar quarter, on the occasion of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

According to the Foxconn boss, who spoke at a financial briefing, the company’s revenue from consumer products is expected to be, at best, stable, even slightly decreasing. The indefinite closure of the factory, combined with global inflation and tense geopolitical conditions, led the leader to issue pessimistic forecasts for the electronic goods market. He also expects lower margins on this type of product. Does this imply that Apple could revise its selling prices upwards? It is not impossible.

Source: Nikkei Asia