With iPhone 5 supplies now keeping pace with demand, Apple is facing another inventory challenge in the Mac department.
On Monday, shoppers in the U.K. began reporting extended shipping times for Apple’s popular iMac. As it turns out, online orders placed for the all-in-one machine are seeing increasingly protracted shipping times.
According to Apple Insider, the product shortage isn’t a surprise. In fact, some industry analysts expected this reality months before the refreshed iMac line was introduced.
Analyst Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities revealed in August, months before the new iMacs were unveiled, that production issues were likely. It was said that the screen lamination process in building the new desktops is difficult, particularly with the larger 27-inch model.
Apple CEO Tim Cook stated last fall that a “significant shortage” of iMacs could occur in the December quarter. But there was little reason to believe the problem would worsen at the onset of 2013.
As of press time, Apple’s 27-inch model isn’t easy to come by in the U.S. either. Shipping times (in both the U.S. and U.K.) have now fallen to upwards of four weeks.
