<i>&quot;Bill may not be cognizant of is just how advantageous vertical integration is for companies like Apple.&quot;</i><p>The CEO of Ford not being aware of the advantages of vertical integration? That&#x27;s a joke.  Until 1989, Ford made its own steel. They still operate foundries and rolling mills.  The Ford River Rouge plant was once the most vertically integrated auto plant in the world - iron ore came in at one end and cars came out the other.<p>Apple doesn&#x27;t make iPhones. Foxconn makes iPhones.