Apple(US:AAPL) Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-06-22 03:36Core Insights - The report from the American Enterprise Institute highlights Apple's progress in supply chain diversification over the past decade and the structural challenges it faces amid US-China geopolitical tensions [1] - It emphasizes the need for Apple to accelerate its supply chain diversification, particularly in emerging markets like Southeast Asia [1] Group 1: Value Chain Understanding - The concept of the "value chain" is crucial for understanding the contributions of various suppliers in the production of electronic devices, which often involve components from numerous factories [3] - The majority of profits in electronic products are concentrated in technology-intensive components and design, with a typical smartphone costing around $1,000, where material costs account for approximately $500 [3] - Understanding the value chain is essential for policy-making as it relates to production models, trade flows, and corporate profit distribution [4] Group 2: Apple's Value Chain Changes - Apple's supply chain has historically been concentrated in China, but recent adjustments have been limited despite ongoing geopolitical pressures [5][7] - The report analyzes data from Apple's top 200 suppliers from 2013 to 2023, covering 98% of its total spending, to assess changes in supply chain distribution [7] Group 3: Component-Level Analysis - The report categorizes key components in Apple's supply chain, including batteries, semiconductors, and electronic manufacturing, and analyzes their distribution across different regions from 2013 to 2023 [8] - In electronic manufacturing, Apple's assembly base in China has decreased from 60%-70% to about 50%, with increased shares in India and Southeast Asia [10] - For batteries, while over half of the components still come from China, more than 40% of production capacity has shifted overseas, with suppliers from Taiwan, South Korea, and Germany now outnumbering those from China [11] - In the connectors and cables sector, Japan remains dominant, with only one supplier from China among nine total [12] - The number of material suppliers for Apple has increased from 13 to 23, with a notable rise in the share of suppliers from China [13][14] - The supply chain for molded and mechanical components has remained stable, with minimal changes in supplier composition since 2021 [15]