Everyone and their aunt knows that Apple is going to push out the next generation Apple iPad sooner or later, but apparently one analyst is claiming Apple me be slowing down shipments of new Apple iPads in advance of the launch of the Apple iPad 2.

According to an article over on Ubergizmo and by way of Apple Insider, the claim has been made by Concord Equity analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of which he says Apple iPad shipments for December hit almost 1.6 million which is considerably lower that the 2.1 million shipped during November.

The rumour is that Apple iPad 2 will begin shipping sometime in February although there’s no official word yet on an actual release day for the next generation iOS device.

So perhaps if you have been having some difficulty in gaining an Apple iPad maybe this could be the reason, then again February isn’t that far off so perhaps the best thing to do is hang off buying that Apple iPad and opt for the iPad 2 instead.