Apple supplier Foxconn, others said to be disrupted by India’s greater scrutiny of imports from China
- The delays have affected production at Foxconn’s two factories in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where smartphones from Apple and Xiaomi are assembled
- Other companies affected by the inspection measures at Indian ports included computer giant Dell and carmaker MG Motor
Customs officers at Indian ports have held back shipments from China and sought additional clearances, following a deadly clash by the two countries’ troops at the disputed Himalayan border last month. The checks have been imposed without any formal order.
While several companies such as Apple and Dell have been battling to free stuck shipments, hundreds of employees at Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn’s two plants in the south had no major work to do this week as shipments were delayed, sources said.
More than 150 Foxconn shipments – containing smartphone and electronic parts – were stuck at the port of Chennai, though some are being cleared slowly now, the first source said. The total number of parts in the shipments was not clear.
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“Foxconn was in a very bad state ... lots of workers stayed at the dormitory because there was no work,” said the first source.
Foxconn, Apple and Xiaomi did not respond to Reuters’ queries.
India’s Ministry of Finance also did not respond. Two officials at the ministry, which oversees the customs department, said the inspection measures were temporary and will ease soon.
“We cannot keep checking 100 per cent of shipments forever ... Shipments of non-Chinese companies being impacted will be cleared on priority,” said one official.
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While the exact impact of the disruptions is not immediately clear, the delays have come as companies in India had already been battling disrupted supply chains caused by the coronavirus shutdowns in recent months. Business activity in the country has only just begun to pick up.
Prominent US-India lobby groups and local industry bodies have urged the Indian government to intervene.
While some delayed Dell shipments have been cleared since last week, the computer maker had roughly 130 shipments stuck this week at Indian ports, the second source said. This included around six shipping containers with parts for servers and desktop computers, the person added.
Dell did not respond to a request for comment.
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Separately, MG Motor, owned by Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor Corp, also has some shipments stuck at a port in southern India, a source close to the company told Reuters. MG started selling cars in India last year and has committed US$650 million in investments.
“The whole (car) industry will be impacted if components are stuck,” the source said.
MG Motor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
