To diversify Apple’s supply chain, Apple’s big contractor Foxconn has secured a new site in Vietnam. According to the South China Morning Post, the manufacturer has signed a lease with Saigon-Bac Giang Industrial Park Corp to occupy a plot of 45 hectares to meet “operational needs and expand production capacity.”
The site, located in the Quang Chau Industrial Park in Bac Giang province east of Hanoi, was rented through Foxconn’s subsidiary Fulian Precision Technology Component Co. The lease will run through February 2057, the company said.
Foxconn signed a US$300 million agreement with a Vietnamese developer last August to build a new factory in Bac Giang, where it already produces iPads and AirPods.
Although the report doesn’t specify which products Foxconn will be making at this factory, a couple of reports from last year indicate that the 2023 Mac Pro and new MacBook models are among the technologies the Taiwanese company will produce in Vietnam.
Nikkei Asia, for example, already reported that Foxconn had finalized its plans to relocate some of its MacBook production to Vietnam in December. The “Made in Vietnam” products are expected to appear as early as May with MacBook models.
The rumored Apple silicon Mac Pro is also expected to lose its “Made in the USA” engrave for a “Made in Vietnam” one. This was rumored by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, also in December, saying Apple was shifting its production line away from the US.
The Apple silicon Mac Pro still has a few mysteries behind it, as Apple is rumored to have hit a few roadblocks. For example, it won’t have user-upgradeable RAM and will maintain the same design as its Intel counterpart. A possible M2 Extreme chip was also canceled, as the company is expected to bet on the M2 Ultra processor for this high-end Mac.
These moves by Apple, with Foxconn’s help, are to avoid possible supply chain issues in the future. After the COVID-19 lockdown at the largest iPhone factory in China last year, the Cupertino firm wants to diversify its production to Vietnam, Taiwan, and India. That will also help with possible sanctions from the US against China as well.
BGR will keep reporting on these efforts by Apple to diversify its supply chain and decrease its reliance on Chinese factories.
