Ming-Chi Kuo says iPhone production may not improve by the second quarter

Ming-Chi Kuo, a prominent analyst at TF Securities, asserted that supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus outbreak will continue to negatively impact iPhone production during the current quarter. According to his latest research note, production will not improve until the second quarter of 2020, when most shuttered factories are expected to reopen.

The closure of the LG Innotek factory in South Korea is believed to have hit Apple particularly hard as it supplies camera modules for the iPhone. Kuo said shipments from iPhone camera lens supplier Genius Electronic Optical also fell significantly last month. According to him, there is still about a month of inventory left, but production is not expected to resume until May at the earliest.

With the coronavirus outbreak severely impacting Apple’s supply chain in China, the US tech giant has already shifted at least some of its iPhone production to Taiwan to reduce further disruption. However, the company has already lowered its profit forecast due to the ongoing crisis, and this may not help prevent the company from posting a significant drop in sales this quarter. The entire technology industry has been severely affected by the virus, with nearly all major events being canceled or postponed in response to the virus.

The ongoing CoVID-19 crisis, which is believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year, is starting to take on a global scale, with hundreds of people already infected in South Korea, Iran, and around the world. It has been confirmed that The United States also reported its first coronavirus-related death over the weekend, so it remains to be seen how authorities and medical professionals will assess the situation.