苹果考虑在美国生产iPhone

即将上任的总统唐纳德·特朗普非常希望苹果把iPhone的生产线移到美国。而他可能会很高兴，因为有公开报道表明，苹果正在考虑这样做。

《日经新闻》（Nikkei）援引某个未经确认、却声称了解内情的消息源，表示苹果在今年6月邀请两家主要的iPhone制造商富士康科技集团（Foxconn Technology Group）与和硕（Pegatron）考虑把iPhone的生产线移至美国的可行性。消息源表示，和硕由于担心“成本问题”，拒绝了这个想法，不过富士康仍在权衡。

苹果在全球各地都生产iPhone部件，不过拼装手机的过程主要依靠和硕与富士康在中国进行，其部分原因在于这里的劳动力较为廉价。

劳动力成本的减少对苹果来说是一大利好。公司每年要销售几亿部iPhone，每个季度都从中获得几十亿美元的利润。

不过苹果的成功没有逃过即将担任总统的唐纳德·特朗普的注意。今年3月，对于iPhone制造商依赖中国的问题，他表达了关注。在一次演讲中，他表示将“让苹果开始在我们的本土制造电脑和手机，而不是在中国。”今年，在苹果拒绝向联邦调查局（FBI）提供圣贝纳迪诺恐怖分子塞义德·法鲁克的iPhone解锁方式后，特朗普还呼吁抵制该公司的产品。

特朗普还表示，他对中国商品征收昂贵的关税，并认为中国是“货币操纵国”。尽管在今年早些时候，他的言论还仅仅被看作夸张的表述，不过他的当选让很多人怀疑他是否会说到做到。

尽管目前并不明确苹果为何让制造商合作伙伴考虑在美国生产iPhone，但他们可能已经意识到，把生产线迁回美国的选择并不经济。根据《日经新闻》的消息，此举会让如今生产iPhone的成本“翻倍还多”。

《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）在本周采访工业专家时，得出了类似的结论。Sanford C. Bernstein的阿尔贝托·穆勒表示，苹果有可能把iPhone的生产线迁回美国，但此举难度很大，成本很高，需要的时间也很多。因此，最终落实的概率很低。

苹果也有一些产品在美国制造。其中包括高端台式机Mac Pro，此外所有的研发工作都在美国进行。

苹果拒绝回应《日经新闻》的报道。而富士康与和硕也没有立刻回应置评请求。（财富中文网）

译者：严匡正

President-elect Donald Trump really wants Apple to move its iPhone production to the U.S. And he may be happy to learn that Apple is considering it, according to a published report.

In June, Apple asked two of its chief iPhone manufacturers, Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron, to explore shifting their iPhone production to the U.S., the Nikkei is reporting, citing an unidentified source who claims to have knowledge of the talks. Pegatron ultimately declined to pursue the idea because of fear of “cost concerns,” the source told Nikkei. But Foxconn continues to weigh it, the source said.

Apple gets iPhone components from all over the world, but relies on Pegatron and Foxconn to manufacture the smartphone in China in part because of cheaper labor.

That reduced cost has been a boon for Apple, which sells hundreds of millions of iPhones annually and generates billions of dollars in profits on those sales each quarter.

Apple’s -0.11% success didn’t go unnoticed by President-elect Donald Trump, who in March voiced concerns the iPhone maker’s reliance on China. He said during a speech that he would “get Apple to start making their computers and their iPhones on our land, not in China.” Trump this year also called for a boycott of Apple products after the company declined to provide the FBI with a method for unlocking an iPhone used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook.

Trump has also said that he would slap China with expensive tariffs on its goods and accused it of being a “currency manipulator.” While Trump’s comments were viewed merely as rhetoric earlier this year, his election has caused many to question whether he could make good on his promise.

While it’s unclear why Apple asked its manufacturing partners to explore building iPhones in the U.S., the company could be coming to the realization that it might not make sound financial sense to move to the U.S. According to one Nikkei source, moving iPhone production from China to the U.S. would “more than double” what Apple pays now to have its iPhones manufactured.

That comment follows similar statements that industry experts made this week in interviews with The Wall Street Journal. According to the Journal, those experts, including Sanford C. Bernstein’s Alberto Moel, say it’s possible that Apple would move iPhone manufacturing to the U.S., but the effort would be exceedingly difficult, costly, and take a considerable amount of time. The chances, then, are slim.

Still, Apple does do some manufacturing in the U.S. That includes the company’s high-end desktop computer, the Mac Pro, while nearly all of its research-and-development efforts are done in its home country.

Apple declined to comment on the Nikkei report. Foxconn and Pegatron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.