According to SeekingAlpha, UBS analyst David Vogt has pointed out that the combination of low supplies and heavy demand has led to long wait times for iPhone orders. Production at Foxconn’s largest iPhone factory in Zhangzhou China has been impacted by the COVID shutdown in the region which led many Foxconn workers to leave the campus. Apple itself has admitted that iPhone shipments are going to be reduced during the current quarter.
UBS’ Evidence Lab, which tracks iPhone availability in 30 countries, now shows that wait times for the iPhone are not only on the rise, but they are at an “extreme level.” For example, in the states, consumers ordering an iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are waiting an average of 34 days to receive their brand-spanking-new handsets. In China, the wait time has risen by 10 days over the last week to 36 days.
Wait times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max in the U.S. are at extreme levels says UBS
In a note to clients, Vogt wrote, “While our recently lowered 83 million Dec quarter iPhone unit estimate should reflect the recent disruptions, if the data does not improve over the next several weeks, we believe there is downside risk to iPhones despite the extra week in the quarter.” He also noted that 35% to 40% of the current quarter’s iPhone production is assembled in December which could indicate that wait times are going to be even longer as the fourth calendar quarter becomes the first quarter of 2023.
And of course, it is the holiday shopping season with Black Friday kicking off a week from this Friday. This is not a very good time of the year for Apple to run into production snafus for the iPhone which remains its most popular product. For example, during last year’s calendar fourth quarter (which runs from the start of October through the end of December), Apple collected $76.63 billion in revenue for the iPhone alone. That was up 11% from the $68.34 billion in iPhone sales that Apple reported for the same period during the previous year.
