Bloomberg reports that Apple has cut iPad 2 orders from Foxconn in China by up to 25%, which likely indicates Apple shifting production to the new Brazilian plant, according to JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz.
Several supply-chain vendors indicated in the past two weeks that Apple lowered fourth-quarter iPad orders 25 percent, the first such cut that analysts at JPMorgan’s electronic manufacturing services team in Hong Kong said they have ever seen. The report didn’t list the affected companies, and Gokul Hariharan, one of the report’s authors, said he couldn’t comment when reached by Bloomberg News today.
We think it's a bit premature to pin this on Apple gearing up for iPad 3 production, as TiPb recently heard Apple had returned iPad 3 to the traditional spring schedule. Instead, the idea of Apple shifting production to the new plant seems more likely. Earlier this month, The Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology, Aolizio Mercadante, has confirmed that the new Foxconn factory in Jundiai Brazil is up and running.
Moskowitz believes Apple will sell between 10.9 and 12 million iPads during the 4th quarter, up from 9.25 million in Q3.
Source: Bloomberg
