Nokia supply slowed by Japan disaster

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia has announced that its supply could be disrupted by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The world’s biggest handset producer admitted last week that problems have arisen after component factories in Japan were closed for days on end following the disaster.

“Although a complete picture is not available, Nokia expects some disruption to the ability of its Devices & Services unit to supply a number of products due to the currently anticipated industry-wide shortage of relevant components and raw materials sourced from Japan,” Nokia said in a statement. “However, Nokia does not expect any material impact on its first quarter 2011 results due to this event,” it added.

Other multinational firms, such as Honda, Nissan, Toyota and mobile phone rivals Sony Ericsson, also saw their factories closed in the immediate aftermath of the quake. Analysts have suggested that Nokia could be hit harder than its competitors, however, due to its success.

“The sheer number of phones it sells means it is likely more vulnerable to unexpected disruptions to component supply than rivals,” Ben Wood at CCS Insight told the BBC.

The Japan disaster, which begun with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake on Friday 11th March, came just days after Nokia announced that it is joining forces with Microsoft in an attempt to take a slice of the lucrative Smartphone market which is currently dominated by Apple and Google Android.

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