Apple blocked the transfer of the production of its products from China to Vietnam, due to complications related to the COVID pandemic. Furthermore, there appear to be limited engineering resources for the Vietnam passage at the moment. AirPods 3, along with the new ones iPad e MacBook that the company wants to launch, will be built in China.
Apple keeps production in China, move to Vietnam blocked
According to Nikkei, the production of AirPods 3 will take place in Chinese territory. Until now, Apple had delegated the construction of its earphones to Vietnamese companies. But for the third edition it aims to exploit the Chinese supply chain, and then eventually expand production by building them also in Vietnam. According to Nikkei, at least the 20% of Apple’s new headphones will be built in Vietnam, but not immediately.
Since China-US trade relations became complicated in 2018 under the Trump administration, many companies have begun to reevaluate productive dependence on China. Fear of customs duties and trade freezes with the tightening of Sino-American relations has convinced many to expand the portfolio of producers. Apple has long had relations with several Asian countries, from South Korea to Vietnam. Ma la China remains a key production partner.
However, from the end of 2020 he started asking Foxconn from diversify the production of iPad and MacBook, coming out of China. But the transition, according to Nikkei, is slowed by problems in recovering components and machinery, especially in this period of deficiency of silicon. Furthermore, the lack of workers during the pandemic and tighter customs controls due to the COVID protocols are postponing the production shift.
Production in China will continue for Apple, at least for the September launch of the iPhone 13 and other Apple products. But it seems the company is intent on diversify production throughout the Asian region. However, without completely abandoning China. The only sure thing is that the design will continue to happen at Cupertino.