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American technology giant Apple has reportedly chartered cargo flights for ferrying 600 tons of iPhones, which adds up to as many as 1.5 million units, to the US from India. This comes after the tech giant stepped up production in India to build inventories as an effort to beat US President Donald Trump's tariffs, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
Also Read: Another Microsoft layoff round coming. This time, it's for middle managers: Report HT.com cannot independently verify the authenticity of the information contained in the report.
As of now, six cargo jets with a capacity of 100 tons each have flown out since March, with the packaged weight of an iPhone 14 and its charging cable coming to about 350 grams. Apple has also reportedly lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at the Chennai airport to six hours, from 30 hours earlier, according to the report which added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has asked officials to support Apple. Also Read: Byju's subsidiary sues Byju Raveendran, other executives for alleged theft of $533 million Why is Apple flying out iPhones from India? This comes after analysts warned that US iPhone prices could surge, due to Apple's high reliance on imports from China, which is also the main manufacturing hub of the devices.
As of now, China is subject to Trump's highest tariff rate of 125 per cent, as compared to 26 per cent on imports from India, which is also now on hold due to the 90-day global pause which excludes China. The Foxconn plant in Chennai is now also running on Sundays, typically a holiday, to increase production. It churned out 20 million iPhones last year, which also includes the latest iPhone 15 and 16 models, according to the report.
Also Read: Forget markets, here are 8 other early indicators of a recession: Brothel index, lipstick index, and more Currently Apple sells over 220 million iPhones a year worldwide, with Counterpoint Research estimating a fifth of its total iPhone imports to the US now coming from India, and the rest from China, according to the report..
