According to mainland China’s official data, Apple’s iPhone shipments in the mainland improved by 18.7% to approximately 3.18 million units in December 2019. The associated legal representative considers that the substantial increase in iPhone shipments in the mainland suggests that Apple is optimistic about iPhone sales during the Chinese New Year Festival, therefore, increasing the shipments of supply chains, such as TSMC, Largan, etc. 

The industry analysis demonstrates that the significant increase in iPhone shipments in the mainland in December 2019 is possibly related to the price of the entry-level iPhone 11 being lower than the previous generation and the recent marketing programs that have been initiated by various telecom operators. Since the Greater China region is Apple’s third-largest market, the red envelope business prospects during the Lunar New Year would add momentum to the supply chain. 

According to Bloomberg Information’s official statistics on the total mobile phone and android device shipments in China, iPhone shipments improved by 18.7% to approximately 3.18 million units in December 2019. This data originates from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CIACT), the official think tank of the mainland. 

The rapid increase in iPhone shipments in December 2019 has provided Apple with optimism regarding smartphone sales during the Chinese New Year in late January. The CIACT data also showed that the mainland’s overall smartphone shipments in December 2019 were less than 30 million units, showing a decrease of 13.7% compared to December 2018. 

Apple further expects growing iPhone sales during the 2020 Chinese lunar year in the mainland market. while predicting that the market will motivate the growth in supply chain performance. Among them include the wafer foundry leader, TSMC, the leading mobile phone lens manufacturer; Largan, the mobile phone case manufacturer; Catcher, the gallium arsenide factory; Win Semiconductor, the electroacoustic component factory; Merry, the assembly factory; Pegatron the battery factory; and SMP, etc. No comments were made from the key domestic component supply chains regarding growth in performance, but the suppliers stated that they will continue to cooperate with customers’ shipments.

        

Component manufacturers have also noted that although the peak inventory period has passed, they have not stopped shipments to large customers. Since they are at the upstream in the industrial chain, they cannot define whether customers will strengthen the layout of the specific markets, but they will continue to fully cooperate with customer needs. The PCB factory, Unitech, said that the current market demand is more optimistic than the same period in 2019 and the visibility of orders is good. Also, the production capacity of Any-layer HDI for mobile phones is expected to increase, the actual growth rate of which will be clear after the Chinese New Year. (News source: Economic Daily News)