PChome reported on 17 August that Apple is grappling with a memory shortage that has pushed up production costs and created supply-chain risk. To relieve the crisis Apple wants to bring in Chinese supply and has already been testing memory from ChangXin Memory, also known as CXMT.
But that hope may fall through. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has urged Apple not to buy memory chips from Chinese suppliers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, after touring an Apple manufacturing centre Lutnick told reporters the Trump administration does not support the move and US firms should not use Chinese-made memory, a position conveyed directly to Apple. On the shortage, Lutnick said there are other ways to solve supply problems.
Apple filed a request with the Trump administration on 27 June to approve buying CXMT memory for Macs. It then received samples, ran tests and completed validation. The plan met strong opposition. US memory maker Micron said allowing Chinese products would cause a large negative impact.
CXMT rejected Apple’s demand for a price cut and wants settlement at the same price Apple pays Samsung. That means Apple’s plan to use a new supplier to lower procurement cost fails, though the source still eases supply risk and serves as a bargaining chip against Samsung.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Sohu Tech report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience.