Supplies Still Holding Apple Back From Keeping Up With iPhone 5 Demand

Today marks the third-week that the iPhone 5 has been selling on the market. Availability of the phone is hard to find these days, with Apple’s online website indicating estimated shipping dates three-to-four weeks from today. The issues aren’t directly related to the rate of production, rather the heap of supplies made available for Foxconn to produce a sufficient amount of iPhone 5s. If you’re looking to grab the iPhone 5 quickly, best chances are to check your local Apple Store or one of the big-three carriers.

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, known for Apple-related sale predictions, has recently knocked 2.2 million units off his September iPhone sales forecast. Munster’s 27.2 million prediction is now 25 million due to “extremely limited” constraints on iPhone 5 supplies. Apple will announce their Q4 sale numbers on October 25th at 2:00 PM Pacific time.

The Piper Jaffray team analyzed nearly 100 U.S. Apple stores and finally established major concern over iPhone 5 supply. Munster does predict though that supplies won’t be an issue come the December quarter.

 “While the supply issues for the iPhone 5 since launch are concerning in terms of the company’s ability to fully meet demand in December, we are staying with our 49 million unit estimate for the holiday quarter.”

How has your personal experience been with iPhone 5 inventory? If you were able to walk into an Apple or carrier store and grab an iPhone 5, make sure to drop a comment below.

[via AllThingsD]

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