Foxconn Ramping Up iPad Production at New Chengdu Factory

DigiTimes reports that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has opened up its first iPad production lines at its new plants in Chengdu, China. While the new lines are only capable of producing 300,000 units per month, Foxconn plans to expand it capabilities in Chengdu to 50 production lines capable of manufacturing 40 million iPads per year.

Foxconn had previously refuted claims that the company would establish iPad production lines at the plants in Chengdu, but related component players have pointed out that Foxconn already started shipping iPads from the site in November and expected the site to become a major supply base starting the first quarter of 2011.

The majority of Foxconn's iPad production (2.5 million units per month) currently comes from the company's facilities in Shenzhen, China, but the company has recently moved to build new plants in cities such as Chengdu in the interior of China to address worker morale and mental health by keep workers closer to their families and offer a great degree of separation between their work and personal lives.

According to today's report, Apple is looking for shipments in excess of 7 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, up from sales of 4.19 million in the third quarter.