Long ago, when Apple managed its own factories, precisely matching the waxing and waning demand of the market sometimes caught the company flatfooted.
OPEC cited expectations of waning seasonal demand as the main justification for the production cuts, but some individual representatives cited other reasons.
The solar-cell maker, also based in China, posted strong quarterly results but delivered a warning of waning global demand, leading it to cut its outlook.
One of Britain's biggest housebuilders has started cutting prices on some of its most expensive London homes because of waning demand at the top end of the market.
Commodities such as crude oil and copper have also tumbled to multi-year lows as investors take fright over signs of waning demand in the world's leading consumer of raw materials.
Last month Barratt Developments said it was cutting prices on some of its most expensive London homes because of waning demand.
Jabil sees a sequential decline in profits and sales, only expecting a 15-cent to 18-cent per share profit, and revenues of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion as a result of waning demand and inventory corrections.
Optical networking equipment companies, which are among the most highly valued and volatile Nasdaq stocks, fell heavily in the face of a report from Bluestone Capital that warned of waning demand and called the stocks overpriced.
Hence, OPEC's current focus on expectations of waning demand this spring, a perennial justification for cutting output.
Barratt's upbeat tone followed a warning of waning demand from Bovis, which sent share prices falling across the housing sector.
Already, some prominent companies, including I.B.M. and Caterpillar, have reported disappointing results, a reflection of waning demand not only in the United States but in recessionary Europe and in China, where growth has been below expectations.
