Production of laptop computers in China, including the MacBook Pro, is considerably slower now that it was a few months ago — and not expected to be fully restored before July 2022.
The continuing coronavirus lockdowns in China that have been affecting MacBook Pro production are now predicted to continue in part because of concomitant issues over logistics and travel.
According to Digitimes Asia, multiple unspecified sources within the supply chain say that insufficient manpower is a factor. As well as shutting factories, the lockdown conditions have affected travel, and it has proved harder than usual to recruit workers in the needed numbers.
Similarly, despite an overall optimistic earnings report from Foxconn, that company has told Reuters that demand for its products in China itself has declined since the lockdowns.
"There are many uncertainties in the market at the moment," Foxconn chair Young Liu said. "They are presenting quite some challenges to demand and supply."
Recently, orders for customized MacBook Pro, or Mac Studio, have seen delivery times slip as much as three months.
Separately, previous reports have said that iPhone production has been less affected by China's zero-tolerance COVID lockdowns.
