Apple's Supply Chain Is Unable To Meet The iPhone Demand
The demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max remains incredibly high. Apple is usually able to meet the high iPhone demand that comes with the release of each new iPhone series around the holiday season after each new iPhone launch.
This year seems to be an exception though since the problems faced by the production lines in China have severely impacted Apple’s ability to produce new iPhones at the desired quantities. The pandemic and the protests by the local workers have played a significant role on this.
Ming Chi Kuo who is a reliable supply chain analyst, claims that at the end of 2022 Apple will produce around 10-15 million less iPhones than expected. The total iPhone shipments for the period October-December 2022 are expected to vary between 70 to 75 million units while supply chain experts were expecting approximately 80 to 85 million units.
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Q4 ‘22 shipments are expected to be 15-20 million units less than originally forecasted. According to Kuo, the Zhengzhou iPhone plant which has a large contribution in the overall iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max production was only operated at 20% of its maximum capacity in November. In December, the utilization rate is expected to get improved at 30%-40%.
Despite the production issues, the components makers didn’t cut their iPhone component productions which means that once the iPhone factory operations get restored they will be able to work at higher production levels if possible.
Normalisation of production volumes and the current economic recession will lead closing the demand gap in the coming weeks according to Kuo.
Online Orders
Ordering an iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max online through apple.com is an easy process. However, shipping times still extend to 4 weeks for most Pro variants even after two and a half months since the iPhone 14 series launch date.
Source: Apple.com
