Analyst: Apple iPhone 11 / AirPods supply improving or signal of Chinese capacity recovery

According to foreign media reports, the report said that after the supply of Apple's key products increased, this shows that Chinese suppliers have basically resumed normal production after closing operations due to new crown pneumonia in early 2020.

According to a report by Gene Munster of Loup Ventures, four key Apple products (64GB iPhone 11, 64GB iPhone 11 Pro, AirPods Pro and 2nd) have been tracked in 13 countries over the past two weeks (Generation AirPods) delivery time has improved significantly. According to him, the company has been tracking the supply of these products since mid-February.

The report details that the average iPhone shipment time is now two days, below the 6.7-day peak recorded on March 4. Similarly, AirPods shipment time also dropped from 10.6 days on March 4 to an average of 7.4 days.

Although Munster was unable to clearly link the improvement in shipments to the increase in supply, he believes that the reduction in delivery time is largely due to the restart of Chinese production. At the same time, he also pointed out that weak demand may also be a "small part" of rising inventory.

"The key variable in terms of the supply of Apple products over the past month is the shutdown of Chinese production and assembly." "After Apple announced on February 17 that the first quarter of this year's revenue would be lower than expected a few days, We are seeing an extended product delivery period. But in the days following reports that Chinese factories have resumed production, delivery conditions have begun to improve. "

Although Foxconn promised at the end of January that the new crown pneumonia would not affect production, it closed the plant a few days later and kept employees isolated at home.

In mid-February, Foxconn's goal is to restart production, which will increase production capacity by 50% by the end of the month. By March 12, Foxconn had resumed normal operations, a few weeks ahead of schedule.

In addition to the impact on supply, Apple's own operations have also been adjusted due to the epidemic. As the epidemic worsened, Apple announced last week that it would close all retail stores outside Greater China. As to when it will be able to resume operations, depending on the specific situation, March 27 is only tentative. In addition, due to the impact of the epidemic, Apple was also forced to adjust the way the annual global developer conference is held, and announced last week that the event will be held entirely online.