Canaccord Adams Analyst, Peter Misek, reports that there’s an "unspecified production problem" with iPad manufacturer Hon Hai Precision. This will apparently limit the number of iPads to be sold at launch to 300,000, far lower than the company's initial estimate of 1 million units, and they will only be available in the United States. Misek said that it is possible that Apple will postpone the launch until April owing to the low number of iPads for sale.

Misek had earlier told his clients that Apple would announce the iPhone 4G for Verizon Wireless at its January iPad event, and that did not happen.

So, it is more likely that the iPad will be in short supply at launch rather than delaying the launch to let production catch up. Misek's sources are on the manufacturing side, not within Apple. Delaying the iPad would be Apple's decision, not a choice by overseas manufacturers.

Besides, supply scarcity is not new for Apple. The iPhone 3G was particularly hard to find in stores, with just 9% of Apple stores carrying the device at one point over its debut weekend.

Meanwhile, Canaccord still expects Apple to sell 550,000 iPads in the third quarter ending in June, and 1.2 million iPads in the 2010 financial year.