Workers at Hon Hai Precision Industry (also known as FoxConn) were originally to be back at work at Apple’s (AAPL) largest manufacturing partner for iPhones today February 10. Then last week the company told workers to stay away from its Shenzhen headquarters until government inspectors working to contain the coronavirus outbreak gave the all clear.
It now looks like fewer factories than projected will reopen today, once the most common projected reopening date after the extended New Year’s holiday caused by the coronavirus epidemic in China. And even when factories do reopen, they’re expected to start up with a small fraction of their usual workforce as travel lockdowns and quarantines have made it impossible for some workers to return from holiday travel. Supply chain analyst Kuo Ming-chi of TF International told Bloomberg he estimates Foxconn’s main iPhone-making base will properly resume work only next week–and then at 40% to 60% capacity. Citigroup projects that just 30% of the entire Chinese semiconductor workforce will return to their workplaces on February 11.
The supply chain problems aren’t limited to technology companies. Toyota Motor and Honda Motor have extended their production shutdowns. Toyota, which had initially halted its Chinese plants until February 9, said it now plans to resume production as soon as February 17. Honda said it will reopen its factory on February 14 with an eye toward restarting output during the week of February 17.
Meanwhile the number of new cases reported in China declined for a second day, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a technical briefing with health representatives in Geneva. “It’s good news, but we caution against reading too much into this.” China reported 3,696 new cases, according to the WHO tally as of late yesterday. China’s death toll from the coronavirus rose to 910 as of February 10, according to the National Health Commission. The number of confirmed cases on the mainland climbed to 40,196.
