Macs: Made in the USA
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Thursday that the company will begin producing a line of Mac computers in the U.S. starting in 2013.
Cook made the announcement in an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, which will air Thursday night.
While Cook would not reveal which Mac product would be made in the U.S., he told Bloomberg Businessweek that U.S. production would go beyond just final product assembly. It would also include the machining of cases and printing of circuit boards, too.
Like most other consumer electronics corporations, Apple currently pays overseas contract manufacturers to assemble their products. But the CEO told the magazine that Apple is budgeting $100 million to move the line's production from China to U.S. soil.
The company began moving production overseas in the mid-90s, both by selling certain plants to contract manufacturers and by hiring overseas manufacturers.
Cook says that the company moved their production plants to China not because of lower production costs, but rather the skill-set to manufacture these products is not present in the U.S. anymore.
But this won't be the first time Apple computers will be manufactured in the United States. Apple assembled iMacs in Elk Grove, Calif. up until 2004.
The news was released just one day after Apple's stock dropped to its lowest point in the last four years, losing $35 million in market capitalization. During Thursday morning trading, Apple shares fell $1.79 to $537.
