The outbreak of the new coronavirus in China causes the production of smartphones to fall by an eighth in the first three months of this year.

 

That predicts market researcher TrendForce, who thinks that among others Huawei and Apple are the most affected by the virus. The expected decline would mean that production will be at the lowest level in five years.

Due to the virus outbreak, many factories in China remained closed for more than two weeks around Chinese New Year, where one week was planned.

Starting this week, factories are slowly opening again, but it also depends on where the factories are located or if that is already allowed.

For example, electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which assembles Apple’s iPhone, for example, was not allowed to open a factory in Shenzhen from the local authorities until the company takes additional health measures.

The measures to prevent the virus from spreading are not only affecting tech companies. Various car companies also indicated that they had to reduce production because they had fewer parts.