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Tim Cook: Apple to pour $100M into U.S. Mac production

Factories in the U.S. will handle "some" of the Mac production currently being done overseas, Cook says. "It will happen in 2013."

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed what rumors have been suggesting in recent days: Apple is moving some Mac production to the U.S.

Speaking to Bloomberg in an interview published today, Cook said that factories in the U.S. will handle "some" of the Mac production currently being handled internationally. The production will ramp up in 2013.

"We've been working on this for a long time, and we were getting closer to it," Cook said of the production. "It will happen in 2013. We're really proud of it. We could have quickly maybe done just assembly, but it's broader because we wanted to do something more substantial."

According to Cook, Apple is investing $100 million to produce Macs in the U.S. He also cautioned that while Apple won't actually be producing Macs itself, the company is financing the work.

Cook stopped short of saying exactly when the production will start next year. He also failed to say which Mac will be produced in the U.S. However, NBC News announced today that in his interview on that network tonight at 10 p.m. ET, Cook will say which Mac will be produced in the U.S.

Still, the rumor mill might have scooped Cook. Over the last week, images have hit the Web showing Apple's newly redesigned iMacs sporting "Assembled in USA" markings.

Although Cook says production will start next year, it's possible that Apple was testing out iMac production in the U.S. this year for a full ramp-up in 2013.