Ever since the launch of the iPad, Apple has had issues with keeping up with demand resulting in long shipping dates and waiting periods. Shipping dates usually ranging from 5 to 7 days have been decreased to 3 to 5 business days, but that has not stalled demand for Apple’s revolutionary tablet. According to Fortune and industry expert Jeff Fidacar, “iPad demand remains strong with production ramping above expectations.”
He states that the current iPad build forecast for the Fiscal fourth quarter to 7 million units, which is an increase of 6 million units. The 4Q iPad shipment estimates now also stand at 4.75 million units a 45% increase from Q3.
“We believe there is upside potential to our 4QFY10 estimate and CY10 target of 13.4 mln iPads, given the strong demand and anticipated production ramp heading into the back-to- school and holiday seasons, as well as the high level of interest from business customers as expressed by AT&T.”
In another report from Barclay Capital’s Ben Reitzes states that there is “strong improvement” in iPad availability at Best Buy retail locations over the past several weeks, as seen in the chart below.
In a related article GigaOM reported on a research note from Ashok Kumar, an analyst for Rodman & Renshaw, that the long waiting time for Apple’s latest Smartphone the iPhone 4 should be decreased near the end of September. Apple sold 14 million handsets in the third quarter and is expected to sell another 15 million in the final months of 2010.
