The US-China trade war last year sent many vendors, including Apple, starting making plans to have more of their products made outside of China. While the relocation has yet to complete, the coronavirus pandemic has further convinced them of the need to diversify their production bases. Meanwhile, major ODMs have resumed most of their capacity in China,with the notebook and server supply chains stepping up efforts to fulfill shipments that have been deffered by the outbreak. Inventec expects server and notebook shipments to shore up its sales in second-quarter 2020. But there is so much uncertainty lying ahead. TSMC has yet to revise its sales guidance for 2020, but that may change if the outbreak prolongs.
Apple accelerating production relocation outside China, say sources: Apple is reportedly accelerating plans to diversify its manufacturing risks by removing more of its production out of China, with sources from the supply chain claiming that the vendor is relocating some capacity for iPhone to India and acoustic devices such as AirPods and HomePod to Vietnam.
Inventec upbeat about 2Q20: Inventec expects to post substantial revenue growth sequentially in the second quarter, thanks to a pull-in of orders for notebooks and servers.
TSMC may revise 2020 outlook: If the coronavirus outbreak fails to be under control by June, TSMC will likely revise its sales outlook this year despite its advanced technology leadership, according to market sources.
