Apple has asked Foxconn to shift some iPad and MacBook manufacturing capacity to Vietnam, Reuters reports. The assembly lines are set to start out production within the first half of next year at Foxconn’s Bac Giang province, consistent with Reuters’ source, who notes that Apple wants to diversify its supply chain thanks to the continued trade disputes between the US and China.
Reuters’ report doesn’t state which iPad or Mac models are going to be assembled in Vietnam, nor what proportion of Apple’s total production will shift out of China. But these wouldn’t be the primary Apple products to be assembled in Vietnam Apple started producing AirPods Pro units there earlier this year.
Apple has also used India for the assembly of certain iPhone models for a short time , although that mostly predates the US-China trade war and helps the corporate meet local import regulations.
Nikkei reported earlier in the week that Foxconn is planning a $270 million investment in Vietnam to expand its manufacturing capacity. The Taiwanese company is claimed to be moving quite 30 percent of its production lines outside China.
