iPhone 11 ProSource: Joseph Keller / iMore

What you need to know

  • There's more movement in Apple's supply chain.
  • iPhone assembler Pegatron is taking over Casetek.
  • Analysts say it is shoring up its position against rival Luxshare.

iPhone assembly partner Pegatron is taking over Casetek Holdings Ltd, in an attempt to shore up its position against Chinese rival Luxshare.

As reported by Bloomberg:

iPhone assembler Pegatron Corp. is taking over Casetek Holdings Ltd., strengthening its position against rising Chinese rival Luxshare Precision Industry Co.

Taiwan's Pegatron, which along with larger competitor Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. makes most of the world's iPhones, said in a statement it will acquire the rest of the device casings maker it doesn't own, then take private a unit valued at about $1 billion.

The report says both Pegatron and Apple's main supplier Foxconn are preparing for "intensified competition" from rival Luxshare, and other mainland rivals in China. Recent reports note that China is continuing to invest in domestic supply chains to serve China as US-China trade tensions heat up. From analyst Jeff Pu:

"Pegatron is trying to bolster its component business to defend itself against the rise of Luxshare. It may streamline some overlapping business with Casetek."

A report earlier this week suggested Foxconn plans to split its supply chain due to trade war pressures, and that China was no longer "a factory to the world." From that report:

The company's chair Young Liu said it was "gradually adding more capacity outside of China" and that the proportion of offshore manufacturing had risen from 25% to 30%. Foxconn says it has more plans to move manufacturing to Southeast Asia and other regions, in order to avoid tariffs driven up by the US-China trade war. Liu further noted that in whichever country it operated, there would be a "manufacturing ecosystem in each" and that China's "days as the world's factory are done." Foxconn has already invested over a billion dollars in India.