Hacker News Reader

Presumably they mean that there were lower sales in Japan, but that material and supplies sourced from Japan weren't affected.

General sales in Japan. If you were diverting some of your income to relatives or friends who were affected to keep them fed and sheltered, you aren't probably as interested in the newest Macbook.

Even the slightest delay in any single part of the Apple supply chain could cause millions off dollars in delays.

Honda for example would helicopter late parts to factories to prevent delays.

Lower sales because they aborted the iPad 2 launch there? I'm not entirely sure how to interpret that sentence.