A Nikkei report says Apple has asked iPhone production partners Foxconn and Pegatron to investigate possibly bringing manufacturing of the popular handset into the Unites States. Currently, all iPhones are made manufactured and assembled in China.
While Foxconn is said to be actively looking at ways to make such a move, Pegatron is said to have rejected Apple’s request due to cost concerns. The report quotes a source as saying that moving iPhone production to the U.S. would increase costs by “more than double.”
Research company IHS Markit claims it costs around $225 for Apple to make an iPhone 7 with a 32GB memory. The unsubsidized price for such a handset is $649.
Apple’s reported request comes in the wake of the election of Donald Trump as the incoming U.S. President. During Trump’s campaign, he claimed he would force Apple to “build its computers and things” in the United States. Trump’s comments aren’t the first time Apple has faced criticism for its manufacturing of most of its products overseas, but it is the most prominent
Apple has received some criticism over the years for its dependence on Chinese manufacturing but the issue has recently received new attention, as Donald Trump, now U.S. President-elect, said in a speech earlier this year, “we’re going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries.” Trump has also threatened to push a 45% tariff on products imported from China.
While it’s too early to tell if Trump can make good on his promises, the report indicates sources in the iPhone supply chain believe he will push Apple to move at least some of its iPhone production to the U.S. Whatever happens, Apple is exploring the possibilities of making such a move, just in case.
Apple currently manufactures all of its products – except the low-volume Mac Pro lineup – in overseas plants, mostly located in China. The Mac Pro is manufactured in a facility located in Texas.
(Via 9to5Mac)
