Apple will move manufacturing of some Mac computers back to the US next year, the first time in more than a decade that its products will be made as well as designed in America, its chief executive said yesterday.

苹果(Apple)首席执行官昨日表示，该公司在明年将把一部分Mac电脑的制造转移回美国，这将是10多年来第一次苹果产品除了在美国设计之外，也将在美国制造。

Tim Cook told Bloomberg Business Week that Apple would invest more than $100m in reshoring a small portion of manufacturing in 2013.

蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)对《彭博商业周刊》(Bloomberg Business Week)表示，苹果将投资逾1亿美元，让一小部分制造业务在2013年回流美国。

The news tempered losses on Apple's stock, which fell more than 6 per cent on Wednesday, amid a range of fears that include a potential increase in US taxation of Apple’s overseas profits. After opening 2 per cent lower yesterday – taking its valuation below $500bn for the first time since March – Apple shares rose 1.72 per cent to $548.04 in lunchtime trading in New York.

这条消息减缓了苹果股价跌势。周三苹果股价大跌逾6%，市场的各项担忧包括，美国政府可能对苹果的海外利润加大征税力度。周四苹果股价开盘下跌2%（使该公司市值自3月份以来首次降至5000亿美元以下），但截至纽约午盘时分上升1.72%，至548.04美元。

Most of Apple’s products are made in China by Hon Hai Precision, better known by its trade name Foxconn. Apple has invested billions of dollars into its Asian supply chain over the past year as it prepared for this autumn’s simultaneous launch of iPhones, iPads and Macs.

苹果的多数产品是由鸿海精密(Hon Hai Precision)——其更知名的名称是富士康(Foxconn)——在中国代工制造的。为了在今秋同时发布新款 iPhone智能手机、iPad平板电脑和Mac电脑，苹果在过去一年里向亚洲供应链投入巨资。

Some parts of its iPhone and iPad are already made in the US. For some years Apple has assembled “built to order” Macs in small numbers in the US, but Mr Cook said the latest plans would be “more substantial”. “This doesn’t mean Apple will do it ourselves, but we’ll be working with people, and we’ll be investing our money.”

iPhone和iPad的一部分部件已经在美国制造。几年里，苹果也一直在美国制造少量“接单生产”的Mac电脑，但库克表示，最新计划将“更具规模”。“这并不意味着苹果将自行涉足制造业务，但我们将与其他人合作，我们将做出投资。”

In an interview with NBC’s Rock Center, shown yesterday, Mr Cook said it would be difficult to move all manufacturing back. “It’s not so much about price, it’s about skills, etc. There are [manufacturing] skills that have left the US. Not necessarily people, but the education system stopped producing them.”

在昨日播出的美国全国广播公司(NBC)《Rock Center》节目中，库克在接受采访时表示，把全部制造业务搬回美国是很难的。“主要问题不在于价格，而是在于技能之类的因素。有些（制造）技能已经离开了美国。未必是人的问题，但美国的教育体系已经不再产生相关人才。”

Analysts said the move could help Apple protect its intellectual property. “For the first time since the 90s, Apple is taking steps to control the last pieces of the value chain it participates in,” said Horace Dediu, mobile industry analyst at Asymco.

分析师们表示，此举可能有助于苹果保护其知识产权。“自上世纪90年代以来，苹果首次采取行动掌控其参与的价值链的末道环节，”Asymco的移动行业分析师霍勒斯•德迪乌(Horace Dediu)表示。

Mr Cook said he hoped Apple’s moves to audit its supply chain would nudge others to do the same. In January, Apple joined the Fair Labor Association, which said in August that Foxconn had made “necessary changes” to working conditions.

库克表示，他希望苹果在审计供应链方面的举措，将推动其它公司采取相同行动。今年1月，苹果加入公平劳工协会(Fair Labor Association)，该协会在8月表示，富士康已对劳动条件做出“必要改变”。

He hinted Apple is working on a TV device. “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years.”

库克还暗示，苹果正在研发一款电视设备。“当我走进家里的起居室，打开电视机时，我感到时光仿佛倒流了20至30年。”