A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, citing unidentified sources, has recently revealed that Sharp - which is one of the tree suppliers of the liquid crystal display (LCD) screens of the Apple iPhone - has delayed the shipments of the LCD screens for the new iPhone, due to manufacturing problems.

While the WSJ report has also added that the other two iPhone-screen suppliers - LG Display and Japan Display - have already started shipping the new iPhone's screens to Apple, the delay on the part of Sharp will apparently put the much-rumored September 21 launch date of the handset in jeopardy, as its supply may fall short of the expected demand.

As per the WSJ sources, Sharp's delay in starting the mass-production of the screens for the eagerly-awaited next-generation Apple iPhone could probably lead to supply shortages of the handset right at its launch.

With Sharp reportedly behind schedule because of technical difficulties with the production process, apparently due to Apple's decision to use in-cell LCD panels for the new `thinner' screen, the issue has affected the expected yield of the new displays.

With the WSJ report revealing that there has thus far been no confirmation from Sharp as to when it will begin processing the shipments of the new iPhone screens, one source has disclosed - on the condition of anonymity - to Reuters that the reason why Sharp has fallen behind schedule is that high manufacturing costs of the screens have cut into the company's profit margins, leading it to slow down the production.