Apple supplier Foxconn now at 90% of its peak capacity

Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, is at 90% of its peak capacity at its main plant in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou,  according to Bloomberg.

The plant is currently operating with 200,000 staff,  per Foxconn executive Vic Wang. What’s more, the Zhengzhou plant is offering a 5,000 yuan subsidy for employees who keep working in key roles from January 1 to March 20, reports the South China Morning Post.

Due to China’s problems with COVID, the TrendForce research group has lowered its estimates of iPhone 14 device shipments to 78.1 million units this year. As a result of COVID, the capacity utilization rate of Foxconn’s base has yet to risen above the level of 70%, adds the research group. The outbreak in Zhengzhou was at its worst just as Apple was trying to ramp up sales of the new iPhone models for this year (i.e., the iPhone 14 series) to a peak. 

However, as noted by MacRumors, supply of the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ has started to improve, with wait times on Apple’s online store in the United States showing just one to two weeks for most configurations.