“Following a series of checks with sources in the Far East, researchers for Banc of America have put out a call indicating that Apple has commissioned a significant increase in production of Macs for the current quarter while simultaneously reducing iPod production,” Katie Marsal reports for AppleInsider.
“‘We continue to believe that desktops and notebooks are the key driver of the Apple story,’ analyst Scott Craig wrote in a report to clients Friday. ‘Both desktop and notebook production numbers have moved up by 20%+ from expectations in early January, indicating potentially solid demand thus far in the March quarter, as well as some inventory replenishment,'” Marsal reports. “He added that his checks suggest Mac production numbers will continue to rise throughout the quarter, and that MacBook Air production has also increased slightly since mid-January.”
Marsal reports, “At the same time, however, the analyst noted that iPod production numbers for the March quarter ‘appear to have been significantly reduced, down 10–20% from early January and down 30%+ from early December.'”
Full article here.
If this report is accurate, expect Apple to make moves to stimulate iPod demand sooner than later via aggressive pricing and/or increased features (greater storage on flash-based models).