From "Semiconductor Shortages Hitting Smartphone Industry Hard; Counterpoint Lowers H2 2021 Shipment Forecasts" posted Thursday:
According to Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Smartphone Quarterly Shipment Forecasts, total units shipped for 2021 are expected to grow by only 6% annually to 1.41bn units; Counterpoint had previously called for 9% annual growth to 1.45bn units.
The smartphone industry was set for a strong rebound this year after COVID-19 had hit the market hard in 2020. Smartphone vendors placed large component orders from the end of last year, and consumer demand coming from delayed replacement purchases buoyed the market in the first quarter. However, some smartphone OEMs and vendors are reporting they had only received 80% of their requested volumes on key components during Q2 2021, and the situation seems to be getting worse as we move through Q3 2021. Some smartphone makers are now saying they are only receiving 70% of their requests, creating multiple problems. Counterpoint Research believes 90% of the industry is affected and this will impact the second half forecast for 2021.
Tom Kang, Research Director at Counterpoint Research commented, “the semiconductor shortage seems to affect all brands in the ecosystems. Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi have all been affected and we are lowering our forecasts. But Apple seems to be the most resilient and least affected by the AP [application processor] shortage situation.
My take: I read somewhere that Apple helps fund the construction of factories for its suppliers and in return gets first crack at their output. A quick search turns up this and this and this and thjs, but not exactly what I was looking for.
Truck driver shortages in most nations, massive rail backlogs and even shortages of the trucks, rolling stock and shipping containers themselves. Still too many ships off LA, waiting to unload. Finally, international & domestic air freight rates per ton are skyrocketing. Time to invest in barges, that’s all that remains.
Throw in some extra consumer demand for product and you’ve got a disaster on your hands.
Thomas, thanks for the info about freight. At Q3, Tim Cook complained about freight charges. I thought he was just being facetious.
More seriously, Apple will withstand all the supply chain issues better than anyone; And come out stronger as a result.
Interestingly, Fanuc is probably the biggest supplier of industrial robots for the automotive industry, so if Apple needs to buy industrial robots for whomever they contract with, they have that business relationship already.