Apple to return some Mac production to US in 2013

Cook has said in the past that he would like to see more of the company's products assembled back home, but declining US manufacturing expertise made that difficult. Apple makes applications processors for the iPad and iPhone via Samsung Electronics in Austin, Texas, and sources glass for the same devices from a Corning facility in Kentucky.

The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, Sept 20, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

IHS iSuppli, a research firm that tracks supply chains, said the company now outsources production of notebook personal computers to Taiwan's Quanta Inc and Foxconn, which also makes the iPhone and iPad, and Pegatron Corp Foxconn and Quanta have US facilities.

Apple's stock rose 1.6 percent on Thursday, a tepid bounceback from Wednesday's 6.4 percent dive that was its biggest single-day loss in almost four years.

Making strides

Analysts say the stock, which has fallen steadily since September, has come under pressure from investors worried about the rapidly intensifying competition from Google Inc's Android products.

Samsung, in particular, has emerged as a formidable competitor, chipping away at Apple's dominance in the tablet market and leading the smartphone pack in China, where the US company's smartphone market ranking fell to No 6 in the third quarter from No 4 in the previous three months, research outfit IDC estimates.

Samsung's stock has climbed 8 percent since the end of September.

Apple's domestic manufacturing effort will likely buy the brand some goodwill at home, where the debate about off-shoring has heated up as the economy sputters along. It has also come under fire for dismal working conditions at Foxconn, and critics have accused Apple of promoting inhumane hours and helping create a high-stress environment for migrant workers.

Beyond the marketing boost, some analysts said Apple could blaze a trail should it prove that American manufacturing of electronics can be profitable.

Earlier this year, Google made waves when it announced that it would build its Nexus Q home entertainment streaming device - deemed by many analysts to be an experimental product - right in the heart of Silicon Valley. Google said it hoped to speed up innovation on the device and improve time-to-market.

And Lenovo Group Ltd - China's largest PC maker - this year said it will move a limited amount of computer manufacturing to North Carolina, to be closer to the market.