Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), which assembles MacBooks for Apple Inc, yesterday said its Chinese subsidiary has suspended production, the latest among Apple’s supply chain facing production disruptions as China sticks to its strict “zero COVID-19” policy.
The world’s biggest contract laptop computer manufacturer said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that the subsidiary, Tech-Com (Shanghai) Computer Ltd (達功上海電腦), has halted production in response to the Shanghai government’s COVID-19 prevention measures.
The factory at the Shanghai Songjiang Export Processing Zone would resume operations when it receives notification from the local government, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from the company’s Web site
The impact of the Shanghai factory shutdown has yet to be determined. Quanta makes about 80 percent of the laptops at its manufacturing hub in Chongqing, Sichuan Province.
“Quanta is almost the sole EMS [electronics manufacturing service] supplier of MacBooks, so among Apple’s main products, the MacBook would be the most affected by Quanta’s production suspension due to China’s lockdowns,” TF International Securities (天風國際證券) analyst Kuo Ming-chi (郭明錤) wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
Shanghai’s lockdowns might have a milder impact on iPhone and iPad production, which have multiplier suppliers, Kuo said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major assembler of iPhones, can help fill the shortfall due to production disruptions at Pegatron Corp (和碩) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), he added.
Compal said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday that five of its subsidiaries in Kunshan have adjusted operations in response to the local government’s COVID-19 measures.
Compal declined to comment on whether those subsidiaries have halted operations.
The lockdowns in Shanghai and Kunshan have disrupted transportation and worsened an uneven supply of key components, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said.
That means electronics manufacturers will have to rely on onsite component inventory for production, TrendForce said.
Quanta, Compal and Wistron Corp (緯創), another contract notebook computer maker, have stored key components, such as multilayer ceramic capacitors, for about three to four weeks of production, it said.
Mirle Automation Corp (盟立), an automation system supplier, yesterday said that the Shanghai lockdowns could cut revenue by at least 10 percent this year due to production and transportation disruptions.
“The impact will not be as significant as before,” Mirle chairman Sun Houng (孫弘) told investors.
“Fortunately, we have received a lot of orders since last year,” he said.
Mirle said it has received more than NT$10 billion (US$343.81 million) in orders, the highest in three years, which translates into shipments through next year.
The company is adjusting its customer portfolio to minimize the impact from lockdowns in China by adding more Taiwanese customers, Sun said.
Overall, Mirle is optimistic about the business outlook and developments in China, he said.
The Chinese government is becoming more flexible in adopting a “zero COVID” strategy, as some districts in Shanghai have reopened conditionally, he said.
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