US-China trade war threatens to add to Apple’s Mac, iPhone, and other prices

As U.S.-China relations continue to sour, the way Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices are made is changing, and that shift threatens to push up prices for customers.

Alyssa McDonald for Bloomberg News:

China has long been at the heart of Apple’s much-admired supply chain. About 80 percent of the company’s manufacturing partners have a footprint in the country.

India Number of suppliers in India and Vietnam Number of suppliers in Vietnam have emerged as the most popular new hubs in the decade since Apple started publishing its supplier list. Each has strengthening ties with the US and an inexpensive workforce.

China remains a key center of operations, though. New Chinese manufacturers joining the supply chain have kept the number of Apple partners in the country almost unchanged since 2012, even as hubs spring up across Asia.

It’s a splintering of the global supply chain that threatens to push up prices for Apple’s vast consumer base, as producers, shippers and brands grapple with manufacturing in less established locales and managing multiple entry and exit points. High-end models are the most likely to become more expensive to make.

Apple’s new manufacturing hubs still account for a relatively small chunk of overall production. Exactly how consumer prices will shake out is still not clear, and a company spokesman declined to comment.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple are nothing if not masters of suppply chain management. Now, that they’ve identified China concentration as a threat and begun to really diversify production, no company will execute such a transition smoother.

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