Apple's Suppliers Ship Roughly 2.5 Million iPad 2s in March?

The company also appears to be ramping production for the second quarter, with the report claiming a "conservative estimate" of 4.0-4.3 million iPad 2 units per month for total shipments of over 12 million during the quarter.

Sales of iPad 2 are running at a rate faster than its predecessor, and Apple took delivery of 2.4-2.6 million units in March, the sources noted.

Based on a conservative estimate, Apple is likely to take delivery of 4-4.3 million units a month, or a total of over 12 million units, of iPad 2 tablets in the second quarter, said the sources.

Apple has been silent about sales of the iPad 2 since the device launched in the United States early last month and followed suit in over two dozen other countries a few weeks later. While supplies have been selling out as quickly as they can be replenished, it has been unclear whether particularly strong demand or weak initial supplies has been the primary cause of the shortages.

Earlier this week, Apple's shipping estimates for new iPad 2 orders made through its online stores for countries where the device has launched improved to 2-3 weeks, suggesting that the company may finally be starting to get a handle on its supply-demand balance. Shipping estimates had ballooned to as much as 4-5 weeks almost immediately after the device's launch, although a number of customers have reported that their orders shipped significantly faster than the stated timeframe.