Why Donald Trump would fail to fulfill his Made in US iPhones dream? Apple is unlikely to….

U.S. President Donald Trump, has been seeing a dream of making iPhones made in America, it’s part of his larger vision of Making America Great again.During his campaign for presidential elections he had promised to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. However, this vision may not become a reality due to several challenges faced by manufacturers including Apple.

Apple, the maker of the iPhone may not shift production to the U.S. anytime soon due to several challenges, according to a report by Money Control. The U.S. does not have the infrastructure, skilled labor, and ecosystem of suppliers needed for iPhone production. While Apple has promised to invest $500 billion in the country over four years, it is still dependent on Asia for manufacturing.

China is Apple’s primary manufacturing hub which gives the tech giant several advantages. The country gives massive production facilities, known as FATP (Final Assembly, Test, and Pack-out) plants; it operates almost like a self-managed town. For instance, Zhengzhou’s ‘iPhone City’ employs hundreds of thousands of workers and includes dormitories, schools, gyms, and medical facilities in itself. 

Moreover, China has skilled laborers. Millions of workers are trained in processes to assemble iPhones, many of which still need manual labor. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, had earlier said that Apple’s dependency on China is not due to low labor costs but rather the concentration of skilled engineers and technicians. In 2017, he said “You could fill multiple football fields with tooling engineers in China. In the U.S., you could barely fill a room.”

One solution given to Apple was to build fully automated factories in the U.S. and reduce dependency on human labor. However, automation has its own challenges. The rapid pace of iPhone development, including frequent design updates and the introduction of new materials, makes automation a less feasible option. Each tweak requires assembly lines to be retooled, a process that is more possible in China as much of the equipments are manufactured there.

While the U.S. does handle some Apple production, such as final assembly of Mac Pro desktops in Texas, these products are simpler in making and not updated much like iPhones. Even so, most components are sourced from China. The scale and complexity of iPhone production, involving over 220 million units annually in multiple models, colors, and configurations, make a shift of its factory to US even difficult.

Due to geopolitical pressures, Apple has started diversifying its production. It has reduced the share of iPhones made in China to below 90%, and done investments in India. Apple’s partners are building the world’s second-largest iPhone plant in India, which now produces 35 million units annually mostly for the U.S. market. This diversification will reduce risks like tariffs but also shows it may not move production to the U.S.

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