Mike Peterson
A new Covid-19 outbreak in the Chinese city of Kunshan has resulted in fresh lockdowns and testing mandates, potentially snarling Apple's iPhone and iPad production.
Authorities in Kunshan have ordered all 2.1 million residents to stay at home and undergo daily testing as neighboring Shanghai saw record Covid-19 cases for the seventh day in a row, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.
Many factories in the city — a key piece of Apple's supply chain — have also been ordered to halt production.
Several of Apple's biggest supply chain partners are based in Kunshan, including Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, and Luxshare Precision. Components from printed circuit boards to machine parts are produced in the city.
According to reports, authorities have ordered Wistron and Pegatron to suspend their production of devices for consumer electronics manufacturers. Although Apple isn't mentioned, it's likely that the company's production is affected.
The factory suspensions have been run effect since April 2, and are set to last until April 12. Any deterioration in the Covid-19 situation in Shanghai, however, could lead to further testing and lockdown orders in Kunshan.
The factory shutdowns will further weigh on the global supply chain, which is currently experiencing shortages and other issues related to the pandemic and global events. Back in March, pandemic shutdowns in Shenzhen affected the shippings of Apple's Mac Studio and other products.
Residents in Kunshan are instructed to stay at home. Only one person per household is allowed to go out and buy essentials or supplies every two days. On Friday, the city reported 25 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
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6 Comments
Here we go again
Cases are surging everywhere things are "returning to normal." Like in my larger American city. Indoor mask mandates are possibly returning as soon as next week. Never ended for us. Masking to go to Target in an hour.
The Mac studio units are made in Malaysia not China so we’re not effected. Also shipping during the lockdown in shenzhen did not effected much container ship loving as they were leaving the Yantian port daily.