2013 Mac Pro Launch Was 'Postponed' Due Partly to Shortage of 'Made in USA' Screws

The New York Times today published a story explaining why Apple is unlikely to manufacture more of its products in the United States.

mac pro 2013 internals
The report reveals an interesting anecdote about the latest Mac Pro. In late 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook touted that the computer would be "Made in the USA," but sales were supposedly postponed by months in part because Apple could not secure enough custom screws for the computer from U.S.-based suppliers.

A machine shop in Texas tasked with the job could produce at most 1,000 screws a day, according to the report. By the time the computer was ready for mass production, this shortage gave Apple little choice but to order screws from China where factories can produce vast quantities of custom screws on short notice.

Apple's manufacturing partner eventually turned to another Texas supplier in Caldwell Manufacturing, which was hired to make 28,000 screws, the report adds. That company delivered 28,000 screws over 22 trips, with its owner Stephen Melo often "making the one-hour drive himself in his Lexus sedan."

The report goes on to describe how the United States struggles to compete with China's combination of scale, skills, infrastructure, and cost. In short, American workers are typically more expensive and unwilling to work around the clock.

In response to the report, an Apple spokesperson told The New York Times that Apple was "an engine of economic growth in the United States" that spent $60 billion last year with 9,000 American suppliers, helping to support 450,000 jobs.

Apple has promised to release a new Mac Pro in 2019, but it's unclear where it will be manufactured.

Update: MacRumors has obtained Apple's full statement regarding this topic, consistent with a press release it has shared on Apple Newsroom:

Apple is proud to be an engine of economic growth in the United States, supporting two million jobs across all fifty states.  Last year our spend with 9,000 American component suppliers and companies increased more than 10 percent to $60 billion, supporting over 450,000 jobs. Every one of our core products contains parts or materials from the US or is made with equipment from US suppliers, and we work with manufacturing locations in 38 states. 

The revolutionary Face ID that unlocks iPhone and iPad Pro is powered in part by vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) made by Finisar in Allen, Texas. iPhone and iPad include glass made by Corning in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. And Broadcom in Fort Collins, Colorado, Qorvo in Hillsboro, Oregon and Skyworks in Woburn, Massachusetts all make parts to enable seamless wireless connectivity around the world.

Last year we confirmed our direct contributions in the US would top $350 billion by 2023 and we are on track to meeting that commitment. From corporate employees and our retail teams, to app developers, manufacturing workers and logistics employees, Apple is creating jobs across the country and we are deeply committed to advancing American innovation.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

Top Rated Comments

newdeal Avatar
55 months ago
The better question is why did it need custom screws in the first place...
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pavelbure Avatar
55 months ago
This is funny, for decades these companies outsourced everything under the sun, but then come back and ask area manufacturers to make a product for them that they are not set up to do anymore.

I’ve been in manufacturing for 25 years and have seen first hand the devastation this outsourcing has done to these companies and people.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moonjumper Avatar
55 months ago
Is there a large demand for a Mac Pro? I'm genuinely curious.
There is a demand for a Mac Pro. There is not a demand for the current Mac Pro.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NY Guitarist Avatar
55 months ago
Perhaps trying to mass produce a product using custom screws wasn't very smart.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sirozha Avatar
55 months ago
As it should be.

America isn't a manufacturing economy. If China can make things cheaper, LET THEM.

Americans spend thousands of dollars publicly on each citizen to teach them things like calculus and fine arts and literature so that they DON'T have to do things like manual assembly labor.

How many millennials do you know are willing to work doing manual labor like picking strawberries or cleaning toilets or assembling houses? Nobody in America wants to do that at ANY price - and that's confirmed by employers having difficulty finding workers to fill those roles.

Let other unskilled people in countries do those kind of work. Let's open the borders so that low-skilled people can come in and do the manual labor that Americans don't want to do.

This is the optimum global economic strategy. I have no idea why Apple thought it was a good idea to manufacture in the US when it was obvious China (or other places in Asia) was a better option.
Where do you live? Just wondering.

There are plenty of millennials who would work in the manufacturing. Take a car ride outside your bubble.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mozumder Avatar
55 months ago
As it should be.

America isn't a manufacturing economy. If China can make things cheaper, LET THEM.

Americans spend thousands of dollars publicly on each citizen to teach them things like calculus and fine arts and literature so that they DON'T have to do things like manual assembly labor.

How many millennials do you know are willing to work doing manual labor like picking strawberries or cleaning toilets or assembling houses? Nobody in America wants to do that at ANY price - and that's confirmed by employers having difficulty finding workers to fill those roles.

Let other unskilled people in countries do those kind of work. Let's open the borders so that low-skilled people can come in and do the manual labor that Americans don't want to do.

This is the optimum global economic strategy. I have no idea why Apple thought it was a good idea to manufacture in the US when it was obvious China (or other places in Asia) was a better option.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9

Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:58 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9. Like WWDC 2020, 2021, and 2022, WWDC 2023 will be an online event for the most part, and it will be open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will provide online sessions and labs, which will allow...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch

Wednesday March 29, 2023 7:28 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Tuesday March 28, 2023 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an...
home upgrade available feature

PSA: Apple Has Made Its New Home Architecture Update Available Again

Tuesday March 28, 2023 1:50 am PDT by
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December. After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable ...