Fewer iPads 2 on the market
The explosion at Foxconn last Friday is expected to reduce tablet inventory by 30%.
247 – The explosion that occurred at one of the factories of the Chinese company Foxconn, manufacturer of the iPad 2, last Friday, could affect the product's stock by up to 30%, according to the technology website Digitimes. It is estimated that, as the company was forced to suspend production of the product at its plant located in the city of Chengdu, where the accident occurred, shipments of the Apple tablet will be reduced. The plant was responsible for almost a third of the product's production in April.
The factory responsible for the majority of iPad 2 production is located in Shenzhen, but Foxconn had plans to increase production at its newly opened Chengdu factory to meet strong demand from Apple. The company planned to grow production from 600 units in the first quarter of this year to between 3 and 4 million in the second quarter. Digitimes reported that the company intended to reach a production of 13 to 14 million units in the second half of 2011. However, the growth will be more modest: between 9 and 10 million units.
The company said that production at the Chengdu plant will be suspended until investigations into the incident are completed. The explosion killed 3 people and injured 16. Investigations indicated that the accident may have been caused by flammable dust in a cleaning workshop and ruled out the possibility of intentional sabotage.