The outbreak of the coronavirus in China causes the production of smartphones to fall by an eighth in the first three months of this year.
The expected decline would mean that production will be at the lowest level in five years.
Due to the virus outbreak, many factories in China remained closed for more than two weeks around Chinese New Year, where one week was planned. From this week on, factories are slowly opening again.
It depends, among other things, on the location of the factories, whether that is allowed. For example, electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which assembles Apple’s iPhone, among other things, was not allowed to open a factory in Shenzhen from the local authorities. The company must first take additional health measures.
The measures to prevent the virus from spreading are not only affecting tech companies. Various car companies also indicated that they had to reduce production because they received fewer parts.