London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

'Crisis mode': Coronavirus disrupts the heart of electronics manufacturing in China

Factories in China, the center of the electronics industry’s supply chain, are expected to reopen on Monday after being closed for an extended Lunar New Year holiday.

The date is being closely watched because Chinese manufacturing is critical to the electronics industry.

Given travel restrictions and potential supply-chain problems, products scheduled for the holiday season months away are at risk of being delayed as well, experts said

Factories in China, the center of the electronics industry’s supply chain, have been closed for an extended Lunar New Year holiday and the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. Most are expected to reopen on Monday, a week later than scheduled.

But quarantines and other measures put in place to stop the spread of the disease in China could continue to disrupt electronics manufacturing well into the 2020 holiday season, even if factories quickly return to full production, manufacturing experts said.

Andre Neumann-Loreck, founder of On-Tap Consulting, a Silicon Valley firm that specializes in advising hardware companies and start-ups building products in Asia, said his clients have been asking a lot of questions about how to deal with the epidemic and have actively made contingency plans.

“Companies that are building hardware or physical products are in crisis mode now, and that’s true whether they’re getting finished goods built in China or relying on China for components and sub-assemblies,” Neumann-Loreck said.

For example, Facebook warned on Friday that it was expecting the coronavirus to impact the production of its Oculus Quest virtual reality headsets.


How delays could cascade

The supply chain has already been disrupted with the week-long delay to factories reopening, said Sherina Kamal, risk analyst at Resillience 360, a logistics risk-management company backed by DHL.

“The ripple effect coming from one region in China is completely unprecedented,” Kamal said. “We’ve never seen anything like this.”

Factory staffing could be an issue that lasts long beyond the peak of the outbreak, given that many factory workers in China travel from the countryside to factories in urban areas.

“There are many temporary workers that go to the city to earn a living, then they go back and reunite with their families,” said Jayashankar Swaminathan, professor of global operations at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. “But in this situation, they may have second thoughts about whether to go back. That would be a major problem for companies if there is a shortage of manpower.

Well-run companies typically have plans for production disruptions, and if companies have identified second suppliers for key parts, they may be able to keep producing current products at a slightly slower pace, said Swaminathan.

But delays in the design and prototyping process could cascade well into the holiday season.

That’s because electronics companies work on new products in Chinese factories at the same time they are producing last year’s products -a process called “new product introduction.” That means products scheduled for the holiday season months away could be delayed.

“Companies with a product in development, whether they’re in the prototyping stage or what’s called the NPI stage, they’re at risk for holiday 2020 because the schedules for holiday are already tight, and the schedules are already slipping because the factories aren’t open and the supply chains aren’t up and running,” Neumann-Loreck said.

In order to produce a large number of electronic devices, electronics companies go through several structured stages, or “builds.”

First, a company builds a small quantity, or what’s called an engineering verification test build, where the major features and components are tested and corrected. Then comes the design or development verification test, used to make sure the devices can be built in large quantities. After that comes production verification tests, and finally “ramp,” when factories are making large quantities of the product for the public. The process takes months and a delay in one build can slow down the entire process.

“Those builds require hands-on engineering support from the development team. If you have a team in the U.S. that’s designing your product, they typically travel to China for those builds,” Neumann-Loreck said.

But U.S. companies are restricting employee travel to China, potentially limiting the hands-on time that engineers need to work out production issues. For example, Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that the company was limiting travel to “business-critical” functions.


Even iPhone delays are predicted

Some experts even expect delays to global icons, like Apple’s most important product, the iPhone.

“What is going to happen to iPhone in particular? I would bet this may delay the launch of the next model or products,” Swaminathan said.

“Our latest survey indicates that the iPhone supply is being affected by the coronavirus and, therefore, we cut the iPhone shipment forecasts by 10%,” TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a Feb. 2 note. He said second-quarter shipments were difficult to predict because of “the uncertainties of the coronavirus epidemic and consumer confidence.”

During an earnings call last month, Cook said the company’s revenue guidance took into account the uncertainty related to the situation and that the impact on suppliers outside of Hubei was “less clear at this time.”

A representative for Foxconn, one of China’s largest employers and Apple’s primary iPhone assembler, did not confirm that factories will reopen on Monday.

“We have been closely monitoring the current public health challenge linked to the coronavirus and we are applying all recommended health and hygiene practices to all aspects of our operations in the affected markets. These health and safety measures are conducted in tandem with the efforts implemented by the government,” the spokesperson said.

“The operation schedules for our facilities in China follow the recommendations of the local governments, and we have not received any requests from our customers on the need to resume production earlier.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
×