A new research note from FBR Analyst Craig Berger (relayed by Business Insider) indicates that Apple won’t be able to meet their goal of 40-45 million iPads produced this year, calls the number “out of reach” and cites several reasons, including component shortages and production issues at Foxconn.
The note continues to say that these issues will effectively limit Apple, and will affect iPad shipments through the second and third quarter of this year:
For the third quarter, he sees production dropping off to 5.2 million units thanks to component shortages and production problems. He also says the effects of the Japanese earthquake could be felt in Q3. But, Berger says that could change if touchscreen supplies improve.
Initial rumors ahead of the iPad 2’s March release suggested that the device could be delayed until June for production issues at Foxconn, and while the delays did not end up happening, it’s clear that Apple has been struggling to produce enough iPads to meet demand.
This struggle was confirmed by Tim Cook at Apple’s 2011 Q2 earnings call, where he called consumer demand “staggering”, and noted that the iPad 2 was heavily backlogged and the end of the quarter. He also went on to call the iPad 2 “the mother of backlogs”, saying that Apple was working to manufacture iPads as fast as possible, and mentioned that the Japan tsunami and earthquake would reduce q3 revenue by around $200 million.
Additionally, Separate reports in the past weeks noted display and speaker production issues affected iPad production in the last quarter. The iPad 2 is available on Apple’s online store, with waiting times of 1-2 weeks in most country’s online stores.