Apple Has Increased Use of Cargo Ships and Private Jets to Minimize Shipping Delays Amid Pandemic

The Information's Wayne Ma today shared an overview of the "unorthodox and costly steps" that Apple has taken to avoid product shipping delays amid the pandemic, including the increased use of container ships, private jet charters, and more.

Apple iphone12 iphone12pro ipadair availability louisville kentucky 01 10222020 big
The report claims that Apple began shipping some AirPods by sea for the first time last year:

For example, last year Apple began shipping some AirPods by sea for the first time. In the third quarter of last year, the company greatly increased ocean freight for older model iPhones, whose delivery is less time sensitive, to free up air cargo space for the new iPhone 12, according to an analysis of vessel manifest data and the person with direct knowledge of Apple's logistics operations.

Apple has occasionally faced some issues with shipping products by sea rather than air. In late November, for example, the report claims that a large container ship headed from China to California tipped over, spilling around 1,800 of its containers into the ocean, and at least one of those containers was holding Beats headphones.

Apple also chartered more than 200 private jets to ship devices in 2020, a single-year record for the company, according to the report:

Apple frequently turned to pricier private jet charters to ship its products out of Asia because its delivery partners had run out of capacity in the cargo holds of passenger planes. Last year, Apple chartered more than 200 planes for these shipments, setting a single-year record for the company, according to the person with direct knowledge of its logistics operations. To put that in perspective, ahead of the launch of the iPhone 7 in 2016, Apple chartered just three planes for the devices after it used up passenger plane capacity, a different person involved in its shipments said.

To further speed up deliveries, the report claims that Apple has accelerated a plan to use its retail stores across the United States and Canada as "small distribution centers," allowing Apple's courier partners like FedEx and UPS to collect products from an Apple retail store and deliver them to customers within close proximity of the store. The plan was first reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in October.

All in all, most Apple products took only a few days longer than average to be delivered in 2020, according to a source cited in the report.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

Seanm87 Avatar
57 months ago
Seapods



I’ll see myself out.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ducknalddon Avatar
57 months ago

Private jets? What a waste of money and toll on environment. Those planes are fairly small and can't hold that much so totally unnecessary.
They could be 747's. The private bit just means they aren't in the hold of a commercial passenger plane. I doubt they are using a fleet of Learjets.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topgunn Avatar
57 months ago

Private jets? What a waste of money and toll on environment. Those planes are fairly small and can't hold that much so totally unnecessary.
Just because a jet is private does not mean that it is small. You can charter Boeing 737's, for example.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobob Avatar
57 months ago

Private jets? What a waste of money and toll on environment. Those planes are fairly small and can't hold that much so totally unnecessary.
Small? FedEx has a fleet of huge private jets for cargo and here's AirBus's Beluga private cargo jet.




(Edit: Oops - - I see I was beaten to the puch twice already.)
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
57 months ago
Tim Cook knows what he’s doing. A true logistic master guy.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AmazeSE Avatar
57 months ago
So this is how Apple used the money they saved from removing the charger and the headphones from the iPhone boxes.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)