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Nexus 6 supply problems in the US may not be Moto nor Google's fault

Rxpert83

Dr. Feelgood
Aug 30, 2011
17,908
13,152
MN
David Ruddock from Android Police posed a good thought over on G+ a couple of hours ago:

Nexus 6 supply problems in the US may not be Moto or Google's fault.

So, here's my theory on Nexus 6 supply constriction. I think the tracking numbers going out from Moto today make this extremely plausible. People are getting a FedEx tracking number from Motorola for a 2000lb package coming out of Shenzen and being flown to Alaska (no way it could go by sea that quickly). That is kind of unusual. It's almost definitely a pallet full of Nexus 6s.

Right now, the Port of Los Angeles is having a huge labor crisis that is causing the processing of shipping containers to be delayed for weeks. It's the worst congestion the port has ever modernly seen. It's going to have a cascade effect on high-demand goods leading up to the holiday shopping season.

It's entirely possible, even likely, that there are shipping containers full of Nexus 6s, all shiny and ready to be shipped to eager buyers, sitting in Long Beach right now, waiting to get put on a truck. It's also possible they won't get on a truck for weeks.

So, why are you getting a tracking number for a 2000lb package from Shenzen if you bought an N6 from Motorola? They're probably airmailing them out of China in an effort to fulfill their originally promised pre-order ship date. It's probable that they'll keep airmailing them until the port situation resolves.

This is at huge cost to Moto / Google, by the way. Getting a plane full of phones from China to Alaska, then down to the continental US, is several orders of magnitude more expensive than sea freight.

So, this probably explains the delays and extremely low supply at launch. Google and Motorola failed to anticipate a largely un-anticipatable US port congestion crisis.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/113781386215450614303/posts/dTy9JDxiyu3

Another story about it just for further reading:
Longshoremen union labor battle at California port cuases delays ahead of Christmas - CBS News

So what do you guys think?
 
Very interesting to say the least. Could this also be part of Verizon not saying anything. Until they know they have a solid supply route they can use it as an excuse to not carry the phone.

While anything is possible I believe that Verizon remains mum more to support their rollout of the Droid Turbo. What would be VZW's incentive to promote a "generic" device that competes with their VZW branded (and one for which they must pay a royalty for the name) signature device?
 
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While anything is possible I believe that Verizon remains mum more to support their rollout of the Droid Turbo. What would be VZW's incentive to promote a "generic" device that competes with their VZW branded (and one for which they must pay a royalty for the name) signature device?
I agree. I have heard many times over the years, "when you don't want to do something, any excuse is as good as another."
 
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