The good news is that Foxconn’s Shenzhen, China manufacturing plant is resuming production following a partial lifting of the city-wide lockdown that was initiated on Monday.
The Taiwanese company told Reuters it had restarted some production and operations at its Shenzhen campus after meeting government conditions for staff to live and work in bubble arrangements and adopting a “closed-loop management” system.
It’s unknown as to which Apple products Foxconn produces at its two Shenzhen plants, although Foxconn is the largest maker of the iPhone. Manufacturers in Guangdong province, home to Shenzhen, said factory shutdowns have caused lags in deliveries, while logistical difficulties were making it harder to ship goods to overseas customers.
Foxconn on Wednesday stated that 2022 would be “challenging” for the supply chain and forecast up to a three percent shortfall in revenue for the year as a shortage of chips squeezes smartphone production and the pandemic shows no sign of easing in China.
Apple said the chip shortage cost it $6 billion in the last quarter of 2021, but predictions remained bullish for this year despite these strains on the global supply chain. That’s despite Foxconn’s warnings that the chip shortage is expected to run into the second half of 2022.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.