Report: Some iPad Production Moving to Vietnam

02 JUNE 2022 - Apple is working to get iPad production in gear, perhaps by moving it to another country. Business Insider highlights a Nikkei report, saying iPad assembler BYD will move some of that assembly to Vietnam. If so, it’ll be the first time iPad’s been made outside of China, according to the piece.

The news comes just a couple of weeks after an interesting exchange between Apple CEO Tim Cook and the Prime Minister of Vietnam. In mid-May, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited Apple Park. There, the PM prodded Cook to “step up [Apple’s] business activities” in the country. Cook prodded back, urging the PM to adopt “even more favorable policies” to attract more U.S. tech investment.

That said, Vietnam is not likely to be iPad Central anytime soon. BYD will start with “a small number of the tablets in Vietnam,” according to the report.

Piling Up the Parts?

There was another really interesting bit in the Business Insider report on the Nikkei report. We’ll want to go back about a month first, though. On Apple’s March-quarter earnings call, Citigroup analyst “Gentleman” Jim Suva asked wether all of the disruption in the supply chain had Apple rethinking the supply chain. Like, when there are enough components to stockpile, will Apple stockpile? Or stick with just-in-time inventory? “In this business,” replied Cook, “you don’t want to hold a ton of inventory.”

Well, maybe half-a-ton then. According to the Business Insider piece:

Apple also asked several China-based manufacturers to stockpile components parts such as circuit boards and chips to safeguard against future supply disruptions and ease disruptions caused by ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns, Nikkei reported.

“Gentleman” Jim Suva, everybody. Apple and BYD declined to comment for the Business Insider piece.