Apple (News - Alert) is taking the unprecedented step of cutting the number of iPad component orders that it initially made with foreign suppliers, analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co wrote in a Sept. 25 report obtained by Bloomberg.

Unnamed component vendors told that news source that Apple scaled back its orders for the fourth quarter by as much as 25 percent, marking the first time that the company has done such as thing.

If the report is accurate, the move would have significant implications on top Apple suppliers like China's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which would see its number of units shipped drop from 17 million in the third quarter to around 13 million for Q4.

The order trimming could mean a few different things. The decision could signify that Apple is planning on launching the iPad 3 sooner than expected, possibly as early as this year. If so, the Cupertino, California-based company would need to change its component strategy, especially if the iPad 3 does in fact come loaded with a faster A6 processor and a retina display.

This is probably relatively unlikely though, as Apple continues to account for the majority of tablets sold. Competing tablet makers – like Research in Motion (News - Alert) and Hewlett-Packard – have had to lower their sales expectations and even scrap their plans for future launches. As the only real major player in the tablet market, Apple shouldn't feel inclined to wow consumers with a third-generation iPad.

The more likely scenario is that Apple is sensing a slowdown in the market in general, and is reducing its inventory accordingly.

“It’s back to reality,” Wanli Wang, an analyst at RBS Asia Ltd., told Bloomberg (News - Alert). “Now it seems even for Apple, due to the market situation, we need to be conservative.”

This would obviously be seen as bad news for the overall market. If Apple needs to cut inventory, what's in store for other, less dominant device manufacturers?

This theory is supported by a recent DigiTimes piece, which quotes industry sources as saying that a slowdown in global demand and a shift in market trends toward more low-cost devices should lead to a price cut on the iPad 2.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell