A few days ago a strong fire engulfed a production section of iPad 2 tablets in a Foxconn factory in China. Since then, that section has been completely closed and yesterday Foxconn decided to close other similar sections in China in order to carry out checks in order to establish the level of security of the employees. However, the shutdown of that section could have quite a big impact on the stocks of iPad 2 tablets available on the market and those from iSuppli estimates that deliveries of iPad 2 tablets to Apple could decrease by up to 500.000 units. So half a million iPad 2 units will not reach the market in the next period, but the figure could increase if Foxconn postpones the resumption of production.
The drop in manufacturing will depend on how long the plant is closed following a May 20 explosion that killed three people and injured at least 15, according to ISuppli. The total could be even greater if the suspension of operations at the facility lasts longer than a month, the firm said.
Another Foxconn factory in Shenzhen that produces iPads may not be able to make up for the lost output, ISuppli said. The manufacturing breakdown may lead Apple to miss ISuppli's forecast of 7.4 million iPad 2 shipments in the quarter ending in June, the El Segundo, California-based research firm said.
Of course, there is information that claims that Apple would have asked the other partners to increase the production of iPad 2 tablets to make up for the closure of production at Foxconn. It is estimated that around 7 million iPad 2 tablets could be sold in this fiscal quarter, an enormous number that is constantly growing.
