iPad Screen Production Almost Halted at Sharp Plant [Reuters]

Building on the hype of a Wall Street Journal report that opened Pandora’s box last week with claims of low demand for the iPhone 5, industry sources are now suggesting that the same thing is happening on the iPad front.

Reuters cites “industry sources” as saying that Apple partner Sharp Corp. has almost stopped producing 9.7-inch panels for the full-size iPad, “as demand shifts to its smaller iPad mini.”

The report specifically mentions Sharp's iPad screen production line at a plant in Kameyama (central Japan). The factory has reportedly “fallen to the minimal level to keep the line running this month after a gradual slowdown began at the end of 2012 as Apple manages its inventory.”

The industry sources with knowledge of Sharp's production plans reportedly had nothing else to say, and neither did Sharp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama, who told the news agency, “We don't disclose production levels.”