Research agency: Apple OEM is gradually shifting assembly lines from China

Assembly partners led by Foxconn, Apple's largest contract manufacturer, are gradually shifting their assembly lines from China to countries such as India, Vietnam and Brazil to reduce the impact of China's geopolitics and epidemics on the stability of their supply chain.

According to Bloomberg on Monday (December 19), analysts at Hong Kong-based market survey firm Counterpoint Research said plans by major electronics manufacturers to move production capacity out of China began before the epidemic. The companies hope to take advantage of local incentives and accelerate the pace to diversify production capacity globally.

They predict that Foxconn's parent company, Hon Hai Group, may move up to 30% of its production capacity to India, Vietnam and Brazil.

Counterpoint said that while the Chinese mainland is unlikely to be directly replaced in the short term, companies such as Hon Hai and Pegatron Corp. are laying the groundwork for being able to assemble and process more products outside China in the future.

Analysts pointed out that under the leadership of Foxconn and others, many companies have invested in factories, production lines, and carried out relatively advanced processes and personnel training in India.

According to the analysis, India's large population and high birth rate have attracted some companies to invest in factories, production lines, relatively advanced processes and personnel training in India. According to Counterpoint research, the number of smartphones produced in India increased by 16% in the second quarter of this year to more than 44 million units.

At the same time, Vietnam has also attracted 21 Apple suppliers to do business in the country as labor costs are lower than in China.

Analysts also said that because Apple is its iPhone products are designed to be more modular and can be transferred between different facilities, reducing its reliance on a single factory or skilled labor, the rate of production of iPhone in India this year is indeed much faster than in previous generations. "Factories in India can now produce iPhone 14 almost at the same time as those in China."

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