Foxconn: Apple Products Are Difficult To Build

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While telling its shareholders that it has made substantial investments to increase the production volume of Apple products, Foxconn dropped a note that Apple products are "very difficult to make", according to a report published by Bloomberg.

The company stated that it will be able to increase its production efficiency especially for the iPad in the second half of the year, which, we assume, will result in more iPads being produced.

Foxconn also believes that these investments will make the company much more profitable again. The contract manufacturer recently cut its sales growth forecast, but remains very profitable: The company posted a net profit of more than $2.7 billion for its most recent fiscal year.

Apple's business problems currently are pretty much limited to the fact that it cannot make enough products and that it could sell more iPads and iPhones than companies such as Foxconn can assemble. Apple sold more than 7.3 million iPads in the Christmas quarter and about 4.7 million in the first quarter of this year. The company also sold 16.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of last year and 18.7 million in the first quarter of this year. Analysts from IDC believe that Apple will be able to sell about 166 million iPhones in 2015 - if its contract manufacturers find ways to produce them.

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Douglas Perry

Douglas Perry is an author and journalist from Portland, Oregon. His many articles have appeared in the likes of Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, The Oregonian, and several newspapers. He has covered topics including security, hardware, and cars, and has written five books. In his spare time, he enjoys watching The Sopranos.

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58 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Stardude82
    Boo-F'ing-Hoo
    Reply
  • If the Chinese can't make them, then close the factory and open one in America
    Reply
  • scuba dave
    Foxconn dropped a note that Apple products are "very difficult to make",

    Yes, building something with quality in mind is very difficult compared to the normal, subpar crap that comes out of china and the like.
    Reply
  • The Greater Good
    Screw_ChinaIf the Chinese can't make them, then close the factory and open one in America
    I really wish manufacturing jobs would come back to the US. Yes, things would cost more (the only downside... but jobs would be created meaning more tax revenue and people spending their paychecks on goods and services. That leads to more jobs being created and thus continuing the process.
    Reply
  • macewrox
    Unless we get rid of unions for good, business will never bring manufacturing jobs back to the USA. Companies are not going to pay people $32 an hour plus health benefits to work an assembly line job.

    Unions had their uses back in the days of big business, but now they're killing industry.
    Reply
  • sykozis
    I wonder where IDC comes up with these figures from....166 million units is an average of 41.5 million per quarter. That would require people to abandon "feature" phones for iPhones, which I don't expect to see happen too soon without those people screaming fraud. Most of us still can't afford the excessively high cost of the services required for smart phones. I ditched my BB after I got tired of paying roughly $140 per month for 450 mins + unlimited data package + unlimited texting package.....I didn't need the data package or texting package, but both were required. My calling package was only $45 a month....the extra $100 was the data package ($60) and the texting package ($30) and taxes...
    Reply
  • If all they ever make was crap and the product break so fast, why do you guys still buy them. And before you say you are one of those people that don't buy anything made in China. Take one minute and look around you. Yes it shocking how stupid you are. I am stupid too because I am trying to telling people to not be a bias a-hole on the internet. Silly me.
    Reply
  • jgalecio
    Screw_ChinaIf the Chinese can't make them, then close the factory and open one in America
    No homey why screw China? Its Apples gay ass that decided to send American jobs over seas for cheaper production. So please don't go blaming people who, just like us Americans, are trying to live and feed a family and keep a dream. Its greedy ass corporate American that should be black balled for sending jobs outside the US while American people get screwed with low paying jobs and unemployment. Because heaven forbid if a company assembled their products here and it cost $400 to make rather than $80 and only make a $200+ profit rather than a $600+ profit...
    Reply
  • K2N hater
    macewroxUnless we get rid of unions for good, business will never bring manufacturing jobs back to the USA. Companies are not going to pay people $32 an hour plus health benefits to work an assembly line job.Unions had their uses back in the days of big business, but now they're killing industry.Without unions you'd be working for 16h a day and earn less than half... Just like in China.
    Reply
  • sykozis
    macewroxUnless we get rid of unions for good, business will never bring manufacturing jobs back to the USA. Companies are not going to pay people $32 an hour plus health benefits to work an assembly line job.Unions had their uses back in the days of big business, but now they're killing industry.Unions bankrupted General Motors and Chrysler both...as well as poor management of both companies.

    Ford Motor Company closed the Norfolk, Va assembly plant because they were "forced" to pay employees $32 - $58 per hour, depending on job, plus provide health, dental, vision and disability (short and long term) as well as accidental death insurance. GM has been "forced" to provide their employees with the same benefits....which cost into the billions. Plus GM pays retired employees their full salary + raises as "forced" by the UAW. Unions use forms of extortion to get what they want.....funny, Extortion is against US law.....but Unions are permitted to openly commit to it. Companies are permitted to have "anti-union" policies.....but they're required to be "closed-door" policies, meaning they can't require a "non-union agreement", nor can they request that you sign one at any point. In "right to work" states, you can actually be fired for joining a union or attempting to form a union, so long as that isn't stated as the reason for termination.
    Reply