Extensive damage from a fire at Tata Group’s iPhone component plant in southern India could hamper production ahead of a festive season sales surge and may force Apple’s suppliers to arrange critical parts from China or elsewhere, reports Reuters.
The fire broke out at the plant in Tamil Nadu state early on Saturday, leaving 10 people with minor injuries and halting production. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Counterpoint Research told Reuters it estimates local sales of 1.5 million units of iPhone 14 and 15 models during the Indian festive season which runs from late October to early November, with Apple struggling to fulfil as much as 15% of that demand due to the fire.
“There will be a 10-15% impact on production of older iPhone models from India. Apple could offset that impact by importing more components, and by re-routing more export inventory towards India,” said Neil Shah, a co-founder of Counterpoint.
