Sharp says it’s producing ‘adequate volumes’ of iPhone 5 displays as shipping times slip for international rollout

Earlier this week, we told you pre-order delays and shortages of initial retail supplies would likely continue into today’s international iPhone 5 rollout. Many customers included in the 22 countries where the device launched today did not have the ability to pre-order the device, and several carriers and retailers confirmed there would be a limited number of retail stock due to lower-than-expected shipments from Apple. Today, Apple is once again sold out of initial supplies. The company listed shipping times of “3-4 weeks” for the majority of the 22 countries included in today’s launch. Shipping times slipped for at least New Zealand, Sweden, Poland, and Ireland, meaning customers will not get their hands on the device through Apple until at least the end of October. There might still be availability in some stores locally, but it appears the device is in low supply at retail locations worldwide. For instance, we received word that only 500 devices were delivered for all of Ireland.

As for when Apple’s supply might get ahead of demand: Reuters reported today that a Sharp executive, while speaking at a press conference in Japan, said the company is now producing “adequate volumes” of iPhone 5 displays. Issues with producing high volumes of displays using the iPhone 5’s new in-cell screen technology was originally thought to be one of the major contributors to low supplies:

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Sharp Corp is making “adequate volumes” of displays it is known to supply for Apple Inc’s new iPhone5, a company executive said, indicating that a possible bottleneck in supplies of screens may have eased…At the end of August three weeks before the new iPhone went on sale, Sharp, which was supposed to be mass producing at its Kameyama plant in central Japan, had fallen behind schedule, a source earlier told Reuters.