Nikkei Asia reported Wednesday that Apple has asked component suppliers to bulk up their inventories.
The company has been affected by supply chain troubles. Revenue for Apple iPad was down in the second quarter. Tim Cook said the segment had significant supply constraints.
People walk past an apple store in Wangfujing with an advertisement on a screen.
The Lightrocket is by Sheldon Cooper.
Apple is moving some of its iPad production from China to Vietnam because of product and parts shortages caused by coronaviruses, according to a report.
It shows how Apple is trying to manage supply to meet demand from consumers and expand manufacturing outside of China, a process that began to accelerate as the U.S.-China trade tensions increased. Some of the iPhone maker’s products are produced in Vietnam. The shift to Vietnam may help increase iPad revenue.
Tim Cook said in April that the company’s iPad segment had “very significant supply constraints” in the second quarter. The only segment of Apple’s business that saw a decrease was the IPad. Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, warned that supply constraints related to Covid-19 could hurt the company’s total sales by between $4 billion and $8 billion in the current quarter.
Some suppliers have been asked by Apple to build up their supply reserves of components such as printed circuit boards and electronics parts, which are made in China, according to a report.
CNBC requested a comment from an Apple spokesman.
The full report is available here.
The report was from Wednesday. An earlier version said the day was incorrect.