The recent novel coronavirus outbreak, which originated in China, is affecting the lives not only of Chinese exposed to the virus but also of people all over the world. On Monday, the Shanghai government told both public and private companies to temporarily shut down to reinforce prevention and control of the viral disease. Companies like Tesla, which have facilities in Shanghai, put their operations on hold and will resume on Feb. 9.
But, Tesla is not the only company affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Apple has major suppliers in China, and the threat of the viral disease could disrupt its supply chain translating to the delay in the release of some of its products. TFI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, although optimistic about the supply chain of the Cupertino tech giant, has enumerated what he thinks would be significantly affected by the lethal outbreak.
The supply chain of the Cupertino tech giant is 50 percent dependent on China. According to the Taiwan-based analyst, via Apple Insider, the worst thing that could happen because of the recent coronavirus outbreak is low component and completed devices. The entry-level iPhone SE 2 anticipated to arrive in the first quarter of this year could be affected along with all Mac lineup.
Crucial decisions are usually made during the first half of the year for the upcoming year. According to Kuo, if major improvements would not happen with the coronavirus outbreak, it could affect travel plans of non-Chinese key Apple employees to the country. It could affect the development timelines of the company's new and upcoming products planned to be released in 2021.
Automakers like GMC, Volkswagen, and Nissan, have all advised their employees to limit or even restrict travel to China. McDonald's closed hundreds of its stores in China because of the coronavirus outbreak. Starbucks has 4300 outlets in China, and recent reports claim that only 50 percent of these outlets are open.
While there is an anticipation of disruption on Apple's supply chain because of the viral disease's outbreak, some analysts believe that Apple has a contingency plan for this kind of scenario so as not to hamper its operation. Aside from the issue with the coronavirus outbreak, Apple is currently having a supply crunch for the AirPods Pro.
The Cupertino company has sold almost 60 million units of Airpods during the holiday season, and demands for the wireless earbuds are still growing. Apple CEO Tim Cook was recently asked when the supply shortage for the AirPods Pro would end. According to the CEO, he has no idea, but the company is doing its best to meet the demands as soon as it can.
