Apple relies heavily on Asian suppliers to ship tons of gadgets to the market every month. The March 11 earthquake in Japan has affected a lot of companies that make electronic components like memory chips and touch panels.

Shortages of lithium-ion batteries for iPods are ahead because Kureha, a provider for lithium-ion batteries had to reduce output of this chemical after shutting down the Japan plant.

A representative from Apple Inc. recently called Kureha Corp.’s offices in the U.S. The problem: Apple was facing tight supplies of lithium-ion batteries used in its popular iPods, and they traced the supply bottleneck to the relatively obscure Japanese chemicals maker.

It is also affecting other products that use the lithium-ion battery including the iPhone. This is more than likely weighed heavy on Apple having to delay the iPhone 5 until 2012.

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