An explosion on May 20 at a Foxconn (2038.HK, 2317.TW) production plant in Chengdu may cause Apple (AAPL.NYSE, AAPL.NASDAQ) a production loss of 500,000 iPad 2 tablet computers, Bloomberg reported, citing a new report by IHS ISuppli. The extent of the manufacturing loss depends on how long the facility is closed. While the Taiwan-based firm Foxconn, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry (HHPD.LSE), also has a Shenzhen plant which manufactures the iPads, it may not be able to fully compensate for the lost output. Analysts disagree about the extent of the impact, because it is unclear what proportion of the iPads are manufactured at the Chengdu plant. The explosion has again raised questions about safety at the company’s China production facilities, particularly for combustible dust, which has been blamed for the explosion.
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