Japan disaster causes shortage of lithium ion batteries for Apple
The earthquake and tsunami disaster has caused a Japanese chemical maker to shut down, resulting in constraints in the supply of lithium ion batteries for Apple's portable devices.
Kureha Corp. was recently contacted by Apple as the company expressed concerns over an apparent tight supply in lithium ion batteries, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report said the batteries are used in Apple's "popular iPods," but made no mention of other devices like the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook line.
Kureha is the maker of a "crucial" polymer known as polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF, used in lithium ion batteries that power devices like Apple's iPod lineup. The company has a 70 percent global market share of the polymer, but was forced to close down its factory in Iwaki, Japan, after the deadly earthquake hit on March 11.
As it struggles to meet demand for products from partners like Apple, Kureha is said to be accelerating its previously detailed plans to move its operations overseas. The company has factories in the U.S. and China, but none currently produce PVDF.
Takao Iwasaki, CEO of Kureha, told the Journal that his company was already considering production of PVDF in the U.S. and China in the future. The recent disaster will accelerate those plans, though he hopes to keep research and development in Japan.
About 800 workers are employed at the Iwaki plant that was shut down. Though it is located near the epicenter of the quake, none of the employees were said to have been seriously injured in the disaster.
Soon after the quake struck, concerns arose about Apple's ability to procure components from suppliers in Japan, particularly for the newly released and already constrained iPad 2. Among the parts said to be a concern by iSuppli are the system battery supplied by Apple Japan Inc.
While the iPad 2's three-cell battery is labeled as "assembled in China," the label refers to the whole battery pack. The battery itself is made by Apple Japan, which operates as a subsidiary of Apple. The Journal's story did not say whether Kureha's polymer is used in the iPad 2 battery.
Last week, one Wall Street analyst said checks with "critical" suppliers found that the disaster in Japan has not "meaningfully impacted" the supply of the iPad 2. It was said that any impact to supply would be "modest."
Kureha Corp. was recently contacted by Apple as the company expressed concerns over an apparent tight supply in lithium ion batteries, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report said the batteries are used in Apple's "popular iPods," but made no mention of other devices like the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook line.
Kureha is the maker of a "crucial" polymer known as polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF, used in lithium ion batteries that power devices like Apple's iPod lineup. The company has a 70 percent global market share of the polymer, but was forced to close down its factory in Iwaki, Japan, after the deadly earthquake hit on March 11.
As it struggles to meet demand for products from partners like Apple, Kureha is said to be accelerating its previously detailed plans to move its operations overseas. The company has factories in the U.S. and China, but none currently produce PVDF.
Takao Iwasaki, CEO of Kureha, told the Journal that his company was already considering production of PVDF in the U.S. and China in the future. The recent disaster will accelerate those plans, though he hopes to keep research and development in Japan.
About 800 workers are employed at the Iwaki plant that was shut down. Though it is located near the epicenter of the quake, none of the employees were said to have been seriously injured in the disaster.
Soon after the quake struck, concerns arose about Apple's ability to procure components from suppliers in Japan, particularly for the newly released and already constrained iPad 2. Among the parts said to be a concern by iSuppli are the system battery supplied by Apple Japan Inc.
While the iPad 2's three-cell battery is labeled as "assembled in China," the label refers to the whole battery pack. The battery itself is made by Apple Japan, which operates as a subsidiary of Apple. The Journal's story did not say whether Kureha's polymer is used in the iPad 2 battery.
Last week, one Wall Street analyst said checks with "critical" suppliers found that the disaster in Japan has not "meaningfully impacted" the supply of the iPad 2. It was said that any impact to supply would be "modest."
Comments
Oh and I like turtles!
Noticeable effects on Apple products will probably take some time to appear, but they will. If parts or raw material are no longer being delivered, you can only make your product for so long. Thanks just-in-time inventory!
If the batteries are for iPods, then they are likely for iPhones as well, assuming that "iPods" includes the Touch.
So going back to other threads here, it could be a reason why the iPhone MAY be delayed.
First.
Oh and I like turtles!
Unfortunately for you, those are the only two things that you've got going for yourself.
As it struggles to meet demand for products from partners like Apple, Kureha is said to be accelerating its previously detailed plans to move its operations overseas. The company has factories in the U.S. and China, but none currently produce PVDF.
Adding a US factory would be great, but I hope they'll consider building a factory at the other end of Japan rather than in repressive in increasingly militaristic China. A factory on the opposite coast wouldn't be at risk from the same tsunami and one at the opposite end of the country would be on a different power grid. It'd keep the redundancy inside Japan.
Adding a US factory would be great, but I hope they'll consider building a factory at the other end of Japan rather than in repressive in increasingly militaristic China. A factory on the opposite coast wouldn't be at risk from the same tsunami and one at the opposite end of the country would be on a different power grid. It'd keep the redundancy inside Japan.
Should we be concerned about Godzilla?
Should we be concerned about Godzilla?
No, but maybe you should be concerned with Trawsfynydd and Wylfa.
Unfortunately for you, those are the only two things that you've got going for yourself.
That, and he made me laugh. I actually get a kick out of adults playing the firsties game. Adds a bit of positive-spirited lightheartedness to the geekdom. It's self referential and playful - I'm in my thirties and I still enjoy racing my friends to the best spot on the couch in homage to our days as selfish eight-year-olds. I'm actually curious why it would bother anyone. Why not just give him a high five?
That, and he made me laugh. I actually get a kick out of adults playing the firsties game. Adds a bit of positive-spirited lightheartedness to the geekdom. It's self referential and playful - I'm in my thirties and I still enjoy racing my friends to the best spot on the couch in homage to our days as selfish eight-year-olds. I'm actually curious why it would bother anyone. Why not just give him a high five?
I see you have 12 posts here. From my POV of years of trying to use the forum to learn from the community (which is already often a "trying experience), no high-fiving because it gets done all the time - and then often pads the thread with off-topic responses to it (like this post of mine to you for one.......
No, but maybe you should be concerned with Trawsfynydd and Wylfa.
Trawsfynydd: Shut down, fuel removed, decommissioned
Wylfa: None of the above.
No, but maybe you should be concerned with Trawsfynydd and Wylfa.
OOps, out of date info ...
Trawsfynydd: Shut down, fuel removed, decommissioned
Wylfa: None of the above.
Wylfa was actually a safer design anyway from what little I've read.
That, and he made me laugh. I actually get a kick out of adults playing the firsties game. Adds a bit of positive-spirited lightheartedness to the geekdom. It's self referential and playful - I'm in my thirties and I still enjoy racing my friends to the best spot on the couch in homage to our days as selfish eight-year-olds. I'm actually curious why it would bother anyone. Why not just give him a high five?
You get it. I love how some people take life too xxxxxx seriously. For those who have seen the 'I like turtles' video, well then, you get it to.
For the record I know first is dumb, but sometimes I like to just LIVE ON THE EDGE!
OOps, out of date info ...
Yeah I realized that while reading the wikipedia page and before anyone responded but the name sounds so awesome and terrible I decide to let is remain a concern, hence I did not edit it.
Wylfa was actually a safer design anyway from what little I've read.
Yeah I realized that while reading the wikipedia page and before anyone responded but the name sounds so awesome and terrible I decide to let is remain a concern, hence I did not edit it.
Well I live in Austin, TX so what do I know about nuclear plants in Wales?
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/bre...329-1ce4g.html