If you’re in the market for an Apple iPhone 5 or iPad 2 tablet then you may be best to purchase one sooner rather than later as there are reports today that they may be harder to get hold of soon. It seems that there are concerns about shortages of both materials and labor that could affect future shipments.

We recently told about developments for a future Foxconn manufacturing plant in Brazil but that won’t solve the immediate problems that Foxconn in China and thus Apple are facing at present. Sam Oliver of Apple Insider informs us of a report from Taiwanese newspaper Digitimes, often a source of Apple news and speculation, which reports that component maker sources have informed the paper about these issues.
If the sources are correct it’s expected that supplies of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 will be affected for the second quarter. Component shortages have to some extent been caused by the devastating earthquake in Japan and it’s suggested that those shortages along with problems getting enough labor means that Foxconn is not keeping up with production targets. For example it’s reported that demand for Apple’s iPad 2 means that 2.5 to 3 million units per month are required. Foxconn has not released a statement about this situation yet but has said the company is doing all it can to keep up with client needs.
Meanwhile Christian Zibreg of 9to5Mac also reports on the news from Digitimes and points out that Digitimes has a pretty mixed record for supplying accurate information. However Zibreg suggests that if the reports are accurate, the supply problems could be one of the reasons why Apple has reportedly pushed back an iPhone 5 release until later this year, which certainly gives food for thought. What are your thoughts on component and labor shortages for the Apple iPhone and iPad and whether this may indeed be the cause for the delay of the iPhone 5? Let us know with your comments.