There are many problems in this article. The biggest problem I see is in the value of an iPhone and in the capital that is locked while it is in transit. Although there is little information on Apple's operation, a quick look at their balance sheet provides some insights. For instance their 2014 10-K (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/00011931251438...) list 112,258 million $ as CoGS and 2,111 million $ as inventories. These give us around 53.2 as inventory turnover or, better around 7 days. It is a very short time even for air shipping, and this value is an average of all the product. It is highly probable that Apple ships FOB destination making the choice between air and sea not important for them (or better, choosing the preferred one on other consideration). Another aspect to consider is that when the product is registered in the book is not necessarily when the product is paid for. If we take from the 10-K the Account Payable turnover ratio we get 3.7, so apples pay on average after more than 90 days. That's a pretty impressive value. So Apple put the iPhone in their inventories only when he receives them and pays them 90 days after he received them. My guess, seeing this numbers, is that the immobilized capital is not the biggest issue for Apple and their shipping strategy is a little more sophisticated. P.s: this is a quick analysis of publicly available data. If you check my calculations, you could find that I simplified them. The conclusion doesn't change if the correct formula is used.