Although Steve Jobs once said that volume PC manufacturing had gone to Southeast Asia and will never come back to the U.S., Apple is actually assembling at least some of the latest iMac all-in-one personal computers in the USA. The volumes are presently unknown, but it is likely that the company has manufacturing capacities that build systems which were configured by the end-user.

Select new-generation Apple iMac all-on-one PCs are assembled in the U.S., according to iFixit, a PC repair expert company that performs teardown analysis of various products. The FTC states that, for a device to have an “Assembled in USA” label, there needs to be an extensive amount of work done domestically, and the product’s last “substantial transformation” needs to occur in the U.S., reports Digital Trends web-site.

“We will do as many of these things [in America] as we can do. You can bet that we will use the whole of our influence to do this,” said Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, at a conference earlier this year.

It is unknown whether Apple makes any significant volumes of its systems in the U.S., but it is likely that at least certain build-to-order laptops, all-in-one desktops or other PCs are actually assembled in the USA. Considering significant shortages of the latest iMacs, it is possible that the company uses capacities in the U.S. to ensure maximum availability of the systems.

Recently Lenovo Group said it would re-start assembly of PCs in the U.S. in order to better serve its customers, including those from the government, which demands systems to be made in the country.

Apple did not comment on the news-story.

Tags: Apple, iMac, Lenovo, Business, macbook