iPhone 5 Supply Limited Because It Scratches Too Easily [REPORT]

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It looks like Apple customers aren't the only ones complaining about the iPhone 5 getting scratched too easily.

Bloomberg reports that Apple's supply of the latest iPhone has been constrained by a "quality-control crackdown" to limit the number of devices that ship with scratches from Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer who produces the phones.

Bloomberg cites an anonymous source who says that senior Apple managers pushed to improve the production standards for the iPhone 5 at the end of September. Earlier this month, there were reports that workers at Foxconn were protesting over having to meet ever higher quality standards, including "demands related to scratches on frames and back covers."

The problem appears to be that Apple is using an anodized aluminum chassis for the new iPhone, which is why the phone is so much lighter and thinner, but the material is also easier to scuff up than previous models.

Shortly after the iPhone 5 was released, consumers began to complain about scratches on the phone. Apple has not formally acknowledged the complaint, but the company's SVP of marketing Phil Schiller reportedly told one frustrated consumer in an email that it is "normal."

Concerns about supply constraints have crushed Apple's stock. The stock hit an all-time high of $705.10 a share the day the iPhone 5 was released, but declined when Apple reported lower-than-expected sales due to limited supply of the iPhone 5. In the two and a half weeks since the phone was released, Apple has lost more than $60 billion in market value.