Apple Inc.’s supply chain is feeling the strain as the coronavirus extends production outages and dampens demand for the company’s products in China. Manufacturing partners have imposed quarantines on workers returning from China’s Lunar New Year holiday, prolonging the idling of Apple device assembly operations for as long as a month. In late January, Apple gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter that was wider than usual, to account for the virus. The earbuds have been in high demand and low supply since they launched in October, and Apple plans to open new manufacturing facilities this year to increase supply. Apple stores aim to have four to six weeks of inventory, so that also provides a buffer -- unless production delays extend beyond a month.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 07, 2020 21:56 UTC