Apple Moves Mac Pro Production to China

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Apple Moves Mac Pro Production to China
The $6,000 desktop computer had been the company's only major device assembled in the U.S.

By Tripp Mickle and Yoko Kubota
June 28, 2019 9:32 am ET

Apple Inc. AAPL -0.88% is manufacturing its new Mac Pro computer in China, according to people familiar with its plans, shifting abroad production of what had been its only major device assembled in the U.S. as trade tensions escalate between the Trump administration and Beijing.

The tech giant has tapped contractor Quanta Computer Inc. to manufacture the $6,000 desktop computer and is ramping up production at a factory near Shanghai, the people said. Quanta's facility is close to other Apple suppliers across Asia, making it possible for Apple to achieve lower shipping costs than if it shipped components to the U.S.

While the Mac Pro isn't one of Apple's bigger products, the decision on where to make it carries outsize significance. Apple's reliance on factories in China to manufacture its products has been an issue for the company, especially under President Trump, who has pressured Apple and other companies to make more in the U.S.

With the previous Mac Pro model, released in 2013, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook trumpeted plans to build it in the U.S. Apple invested $100 million in tooling and other equipment for a plant in Austin, Texas, run by contract manufacturer Flex Ltd. Each computer was stamped with "Assembled in the USA."

Flex and Quanta declined to comment. An Apple spokesman said the new Mac Pro is designed and engineered in the U.S. and includes U.S.-made components. Apple said it supports manufacturing in 30 U.S. states and spent $60 billion last year with more than 9,000 U.S. suppliers.
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Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-moves-mac-pro-production-to-china-11561728769

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https://twitter.com/Kubota_Yoko

[e-mail]

Nothing for the other author.

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Edited belatedly to note that I own shares of AAPL.

[jayfish]

1. How Long Until Some Intrepid Journalist Confronts Trump With This Tidbit?

I'm gong to say never.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

2. The new MacPro is modular again, like most desktop PCs.

A shame Apple would move production of it to China, as it's a more simple build than the previous "trash-can" Mac Pro (which I'm surprised is US built, with it's VERY unique and awkward design).

[msongs]

3. one wonders how many bugs, data miners, and spies china will build in nt

[Dr Hobbitstein]

7. Same as every Dell and HP computer, I'm sure.

Although a $6K computer aimed at studio and animation professionals won’t net them much in that realm.

[wsbradshaw]

4. Tax Cuts

Sure hope we can give them another tax cut.

[cstanleytech]

11. The focus for our guys should be on the Repugnants protection of Trumps corruption and the

corporate welfare program the government is running that it called a tax cut for them.

[ck4829]

24. LOL

[Dennis Donovan]

5. Rec for exposure...

[dalton99a]

6. Kick

[inwiththenew]

8. All about maximizing shareholder weath

That's ultimately who companies work for and look out for.

[Solanum dulcamara]

9. The pollution worries me

China pays less and has a huge problem with lack of clean air. When they finally do get more pollution control devices, they will have to charge more for services or not pay employees a good salary. Climate change has a lot to do with this kind of pollution. China will become uninhabitable I'm afraid.

[cstanleytech]

10. Well they and the other companies that got those massive tax breaks have done exactly what many

including myself have predicted they would do which is jack shit for the american people.
Instead they just bought their own stock back and or gave the higher ups big bonuses but the average person has seen jack shit as far as significantly higher wages goes which is exactly what many including myself predicted would happen as well.

[Yavin4]

12. Yep. What happened to "they're going to use those tax cuts to build factories in the US"??? n/t

[Zorro]

14. I kinda like the current Mac Pro's design

Nice and compact, fits on a desk. Guess its lack of expandability hampered sales.

[jmowreader]

19. The people who would buy that kind of computer need slots, which the round Pro doesn't have

The new one has a LOT of slots.

[ffr]

15. And the GOF is silent

Bring the jobs back to America and MAGA!

[yaesu]

16. I wonder how much government welfare they will get for doing this? nt

[TeamPooka]

17. This is why Steve Jobs was the high tech Henry Ford of China, and not the US

If they had just made all that stuff here
Thanks Nixon.

[yaesu]

18. Don't you just loooove capitalism making ameriKa great again

[hughee99]

20. So they're going to drop the price now that they're saving all that money, right? n/t

[Sgent]

21. I honestly don't think this is about money

this is a low volume high margin product -- its about supply chain. Also remember this is only assembly.

Apple had major supply chain snafu's when they moved the prior generation to TX -- for instance having to delay shipping for lack of screws. They probably don't want a repeat.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

22. Is China installing spyware in any Apple products?

Asking for a fellow named Huawei..........

[Kablooie]

23. I read about the problems they had here in the U.S.

An example was a simple screw.

They made a last minute change to the design, which is common for new products, and required a new screw as a result.
They found there were only a handful of manufactures in the U.S. that could make the screw and it would take weeks for any of them to retool and make enough to start assembly. This delayed the release of the computer and complicated the other production schedules.

In China when this happens there are a hundred companies they can contract and the retooling would be done immediately.
Even if they contracted a company in China for the screw it would take a much longer time to make them and have them shipped over to the U.S. for assembly.

This is only one example of the challenges that arose over here.
They finally gave up and decided they just couldn't make the computer over here.

The U.S. just isn't set up for major manufacturing the way China is now.

BTW: An iPhone assembled in China costs Apple a little over $300. Only around 9$ of that goes to China. The parts, computer chip, computer screens, etc. are made in the U.S. Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other countries. They are just shipped to China where it all is assembled into the final product.

[ck4829]

25. Kick