Foxconn warns components shortage will last until at least next year

Apple supplier and the world’s biggest contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn has claimed that the ongoing global shortage for electronic components will last until at least 2022.

According to Young Liu, Foxconn’s CEO, the company won’t be able to fulfill some of its orders due to those shortages, which he expects will last until at least the second quarter of next year, Nikkei reports.

“In the first two months of the first quarter, the impact (of the shortage) was not so palpable, but we are gradually seeing that change,” Li said.

He also quoted research reports and said the shortage will likely persist until 2022.

Foxconn, which is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under the name Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer.

It assembles electronics gadgets and makes components for all of the leading tech brands globally.

Earlier, Foxconn saw slowdowns in manufacturing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, following mandatory government shutdowns and quarantined factory workers, leading to a later-than-usual November launch for Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup.

Apple has also reportedly started sending foldable iPhones to its assembly partner Foxconn for testing purposes with a possible release in September 2022.

Testing involves evaluating the use of OLED or Micro-LED display technology, “because the choice of either screen will affect the subsequent assembly methods”.