THIS MORNING: New report sheds light on Apple’s supply chain issues, highlights pre-pandemic problems.

Nikkei Asia has released a new report showing how ongoing supply chain bottlenecks and power restrictions in China have forced Foxconn, Pegatron, and other Apple suppliers to produce less, not more.

“Due to limited components and chips, it made no sense to work overtime on holidays and give extra pay for front-line workers,” a supply chain manager told Nikkei Asia.

“That has never happened before. The Chinese golden holiday in the past was always the most hustling time when all of the assemblers were gearing up for production.”

Nikkei Asia interviewed nearly two dozen industry executives in hopes of piecing together the story. As it turns out, the pandemic was only one part of the story.

Last Night: Apple CEO Tim Cook engineered a secret $275 billion deal with China. “Citing both interviews and direct access to internal Apple documents about repeated visits by Cook to China in the mid-2010s, the report describes a $275 billion deal whereby Apple committed to investing heavily in technology infrastructure and training in the country.”

Apple shareholders should have some very pointed questions for Cook about what he got for their $275 billion.