shifting iMac production from Quanta to Pegatron

If a new report by the somewhat reliable DigiTimes is to be taken at face value, then may shift production of its all-in-one iMac desktop from the current manufacturer Quanta toPegatron.Now, Pegatron alrdy builds older i, hasreportedly been commissionedto build ’s rumoredplastic iPhonnd used to make iMacs.Nowadays most iMac orders are being fulfilled by Quanta, which also assembles the majority ofMacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks…DigiTimeswrites that may shift some of its iMac orders from Quanta Computer to Pegatron Technology, potentially a devastating blow as Mac contractsaccount for half of Quanta’s revenues.Following last Fall introduction, initially was forced to push back availability of the current ultra-thin iMac lineup. The company blamed the delay ona complied manufacturing process called friction-stir weldingand the challenges of laminating a display msuring 27 inches diagonally.Of course, neither Quanta nor Pegatron would comment on the rumor, with unnamed suppliers claiming to have alrdy sent iMac components to Pegatron for evaluation.Sources from the upstrm supply chain pointed out that to become a qualified supplier of requires a series of evaluations and pilot production.The factories used for manufacturing products need to be isolated from other factories, and mass production usually takes more than one yr to start.Rival Pegatron used to assemble MacBook Airs so it may be able to ramp up iMac production quickly as it’s fairly experienced in building ’s popular all-in-one desktop.And should consider splitting Mac notebook orders,“Pegatron should be one of the major candidates,”DigiTimes acknowledges.The rumor is especially interesting in light of an alleged rift between and its long-time primary manufacturer Foxconn over slowing sales of ’s gadgets andlack of product updates.That’s hardly surprising: any blip in sales inevitablytakes a toll on Foxconn’s bottom linesince the manufacturer’s fortunes are so closely tied to .Reuters, for example, reported back in May that Foxconn has beenunder constant thrt of losing orders to rival Pegatron for some time. is believed to be distancing itself from Foxconn out of desire to balance its supply chain.More importantly, is allegedly angry that Foxconn’squality issueswith the iPhone 5 production had initially resulted in scratches and dings for rly adopters, rning the iPhone maker tons of bad press that in turn has tarnished its brand.Be that as it may, Foxconn apparently willexclusively assembletheiPad mini 2and is said toremain the primary manufacturerof the upcomingiPhone 5Supdate, with Pegatron likely accounting for a much smaller portion of the iPhone 5S units.Another market rumor suggests Pegatron may have cut athree-yr dl with to build full-size iPads.Competition to enter ’s supply chain obviously remains fierce.In that regard, it’s interesting thatChina Labor Watchrecently slammed Pegatronfor reportedly serious labor right violations at its manufacturing facilities in China.