What you need to know
- Foxconn says it expects a global chip shortage to have a limited impact on the company.
- Its chairman said that its customers all have proper precautions in place.
Foxconn has said that a global chip shortage will only have a "limited impact" on the company.
The chairman of Apple Inc supplier Foxconn said on Saturday he expects his company and its clients will face only "limited impact" from a chip shortage that has rattled the global automotive and semiconductor industries."Since most of the customers we serve are large customers, they all have proper precautionary planning," said Liu Young-way, chairman of the manufacturing conglomerate formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd"Therefore, the impact on these large customers is there, but limited," he told reporters.
Liu also said he expects the company to do well in the first half of 2021, citing an easing of the pandemic and sustained demand for products like laptops, consoles, tablets, and more.
Similarly, research firm Counterpoint says that whilst a chip shortage "has extended to the smartphone sector", the impact on Apple will be minimal:Counterpoint Research says the shortage has extended to the smartphone sector, with application processors, display driver chips, and power management chips all facing a crunch.However, the research firm predicts Apple will face a minimal impact, due to its large size and its suppliers' tendency to prioritise it. Apple is Foxconn's largest customer.
Apple recently gave Foxconn the nod to build a $270 million plant in Vietnam, from that report:
Apple supplier Foxconn has been granted a license to build a new $270 million plant in Vietnam, according to a new report. The plant will be capable of producing as many as eight million tablets and laptops, says Reuters.Set to be built by Fukang Technology, the new plant is part of an ongoing $1.5 billion investment by Foxconn in Vietnamese plants as it seeks to diversify its portfolio at the behest of Apple.
