Apple’s component suppliers have posted lower sales numbers last month, which led to speculations that Apple has downscaled orders for its products, such as the iPad 2, MacBook Air, and iPhone 4S. Analysts said that it is the weakest October for the company.
Apple gets its components from Taiwanese parts suppliers, which get 50 percent to 60 percent of their revenue from such deals. Their sales numbers were scrutinized to estimate Apple’s sales trends. For the last month, the numbers were down 12 percent compared to the same period last year.
Analysts were concerned that the slowdown in parts order reflects a weakness in the market that they haven’t seen yet. The company might be playing conservatively as it expects the sales to be slower than it previously estimated in the last quarter of 2011.
Apple has reportedly cut component orders for the iPhone 4S as the newest smartphone remains in short supply in the marketplace. Apple is also facing new competitors in the tablet market as Amazon launches its Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble ships its Nook tablet later this month.
Apple’s iPhone 4S immediately sold all its stocks when it was launched in Hong Kong. It is the first country in the Greater China region that accounted for 16 percent of the total revenues. But analysts still expect good sales from Apple in the last quarter.
