apple pelosi china slowdown
2 weeks ago
Published August 5, 2022 by

So far, Apple's Pegatron shipments have been spared Chinese slowdown

From Nikkei Asia's "Shipments to Pegatron's China factory disrupted after exec met Pelosi" posted Friday:

Shipments to iPhone assembler Pegatron's factory in China were being held for scrutiny by Chinese customs officials a day after the company's senior executive met with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taipei during a visit that has drawn harsh condemnation from Beijing.

The shipments to Pegatron's Suzhou facility, which makes a wide range of products for American clients like Microsoft and Tesla, were being checked on Thursday to see if they violated a rule against cartons carrying the words "Taiwan" or "Republic of China" -- the island's formal name -- multiple sources familiar with the matter said.

Pegatron Vice Chairman Jason Chen and other Taiwanese chip industry figures met with Pelosi at a lunch hosted by President Tsai Ing-Wen on Wednesday. A photo of the event was later posted by the Presidential Office showing Chen and others, including TSMC founder Morris Chang and Chairman Mark Liu...

The company's facility in Shanghai, which makes Apple's iPhones, has not yet encountered such incidents, two people with knowledge told Nikkei Asia.

My take: Not yet.

5 Comments

  1. Bart Yee said:
    Following up on Apple’s iPhone sales in the Greater China market, here is a top 10 individual models selling list for Q2 2022 from Kantar:
    Mainland China:
    1. iPhone 13
    2. iPhone 13 Pro
    3. iPhone 12
    4. iPhone 13 Pro Max
    5. Xiaomi Redmi K50
    6. China Mobile SP200
    7. iPhone 11
    8. iPhone 12 Pro
    9. Honor 60
    10. Xiaomi 12

    Nary a Samsung model in sight at any price level, including Foldables.

    United States
    1. iPhone 13
    2. iPhone 11
    3. iPhone 13 Pro Max
    4. iPhone 13 Pro
    5. iPhone 12
    6. iPhone SE 2nd Gen.
    7. Samsung Galaxy A12
    8. Samsung Galaxy S22 5G
    9. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G
    10. iPhone XR

    Europe 5 (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain)
    1. iPhone 13
    2. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    3. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
    4. iPhone 11
    5. iPhone 12
    6. Samsung Galaxy A12
    7. Samsung Galaxy S22 5G
    8 . iPhone 13 Pro
    9. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G
    10. iPhone 13 Pro Max

    Australia (Apple geo = rest of Asia Pacific)
    1. iPhone 13
    2. iPhone 11
    3. iPhone 13 Pro Max
    4. iPhone 12 Pro Max
    5. iPhone 12
    6. iPhone SE 2nd Gen
    7. Samsung Galaxy A12
    8. iPhone 8 Plus
    9. iPhone 13 Pro
    10. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G

    Japan
    1. iPhone SE 2nd Gen
    2. iPhone 12
    3. iPhone 13
    4. Sharp Aquos Sense 6
    5. iPhone 13 Pro
    6. iPhone SE 1st Gen
    7. iPhone 13 Mini
    8. Pixel 5A 5G
    9. OPPO Reno 5A
    10. Sony Xperia 10 III

    5
    August 5, 2022
    • Bart Yee said:
      IMO, it’s Interesting to see that flagship Samsung Galaxy S22 models were 7-9th in Europe and US, 10th in Australia, and pretty much non-existent in Japan and China. Samsung’s mid and lower range A12, A52, etc. were decent sellers on price and probably high in S. America, Africa, and other areas more price sensitive.. Kantar Data showed iPhones taking at least 5/10 places in each market, most times #1. And of course, no Foldables in sight. IMO, this suggests Samsung’s earning comments about selling a lot of Galaxy S22 models and Foldables (oft quoted by Android websites if they commented on Samsung earning) is just so much bluster, especially given that these past quarters were the launch quarters (and usually best selling quarters) for Samsung flagships.

      Yes, Samsung did make Mobile revenue YOY +31% ($21.64B USD) against a soft compare but their profits FELL by -19% to only $2.62B USD!!. IMO, this is evidence that high margin flagships like the S22 and Foldables still make up only a small fraction of Samsung’s smartphone sales, probably ~12-15% at best in the best of quarters. And the farther away from launch date, the more Galaxy S series sales erode unless huge marketing incentives are brought in, eroding profitability even more.

      4
      August 5, 2022
  2. Thomas Williams said:
    Pegatron, Wistron, and Foxconn, along with smaller partners, are ramping up in India. The assembly plants were knocking out iPhone 12 models to begin. As recently as April Pegatron was to begin iPhone 13 production in Tamil Nadu. 6,000 employees there is tiny by the standards of Pegatron plants in Taiwan or the mainland (100k+). In Vietnam Pegatron has a large, fast-growing set of manufacturing plants with suppliers building out nearby. Any antagonism only accelerates the trend to more welcoming shores. India is the world’s 2nd largest smartphone market.
    “India needs to do more in areas like labour laws, scale of operations permitted, etc., for the long-term positioning as a serious alternative to China,” Navekender Singh of IDC was quoted by The Economic Times as saying.

    3
    August 5, 2022
  3. Gregg Thurman said:
    India is fatally attached to protecting its own industries. That protectionism has stunted economic growth for decades.

    The wealthy just get richer under India’s protectionist laws. Those laws do nothing to benefit the lower income levels. It will take more time, but times are indeed changing.

    I fear, however, that those changes aren’t going to happen fast enough to properly lessen Apple’s dependency on the PRC.

    1
    August 5, 2022

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