apple inc AAPL Suppliers are gradually building new manufacturing facilities in the US, with a focus on California, to move more production out of China.
What happened: Apple released one supplier list for fiscal year 2021, showing that 48 of the Company’s 180 suppliers had some U.S. locations as of September 2021. That number is up from 25 a year ago, says a report in the Wall Street Journal. California had more than 30 locations, up from less than 10 a year ago.
Apple said the list went live last week. It shows that many major vendors, including chip makers Qualcomm Inc. QCOM and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., TSM product manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group and suppliers of image sensors Sony Group Corp., SONY Production sites in the US added during the year.
However, the supplier list doesn’t mention how much business Apple does with each company. In addition, the list also contains some errors, and the actual statistics may differ slightly from the official data.
According to suppliers’ representatives, these factories often consist of small production lines for trying out new goods or services. However, they remain vital to Apple’s supply chain.
One thing is clear from the list: China continues to dominate Apple’s supply chain, with about 150 of its 180 suppliers having facilities there, according to the report. These vendors supply chips, screens, camera components, and motors.
Why it matters: U.S. locations, while still a minority, could play an important role in Apple’s efforts to diversify some manufacturing away from China given rising geopolitical tensions and strict COVID-19 lockdowns in the country.
As part of that strategy, the Cupertino-based tech giant is looking to India and Viet Nam. Apple recently even decided to move some of its Iphone…
