Apple's iPhone 5 has smashed records before hitting the shelves with more than 2m people pre-ordering the coveted smartphone in its first 24 hours, double last year's figures. The tech giant warned that many initial orders would not be delivered until October as demand had exceeded "the initial supply." But it added that the majority of orders would still be delivered as planned on Friday morning. The bumper sales of the iPhone 5 contrast sharply with the sluggish state of the US economy, with the manufacturing sector showing signs of falling back into a slump. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's monthly Empire manufacturing survey on Monday unexpectedly fell to its lowest level since the depths of the recession. And the August jobs report for the industrial sector shed 15,000 payrolls - the first monthly decline for a year. Some economists have suggested that consumer spending on the iPhone 5, which accounts for about half of Apple's revenues, could boost US gross domestic product in the fourth quarter by up to half a percentage point. Shares in Apple rose just over 1 per cent in morning trading in New York to hit an intraday high of $699.54. Analysts hurried to increase their forecasts for quarterly sales of the smartphone, with one analyst nearly doubling estimates of sales in the first week. "Given the record pre-orders, we believe Apple could ship 9m to 10m iPhone 5 models by September 29, versus our initial 6m estimate," said Michael Walkley, analyst at Canaccord Genuity. He forecast 50m iPhone 5 sales in the run-up to Christmas compared with 36m for the Galaxy SIII, its main rival. AT&T, the US telecoms company that was the first to offer the original iPhone in 2007, said the latest device had already set a new sales record. "Customers ordered more iPhones from AT&T than any previous model both on its first day of pre-orders and over the weekend," AT&T said. Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus said AT&T's statement suggested worldwide iPhone shipments could reach more than 60m by December, above its 47.4m forecast for the next quarter. Small queues of fans have already started to appear outside some Apple Stores, including in New York and London. One Apple Store employee in San Francisco told the Financial Times that staffing was likely to be double or even triple its usual levels on Friday to help cope with the queues. Analysts at Barclays and elsewhere remain concerned that restricted supplies of components, particularly a new touchscreen display, might hold back Apple's sales. Panasonic, one of several Japanese electronics companies among Apple's suppliers, was forced to close a production facility in China over the weekend due to a wave of anti-Japan protests. However, other analysts say this is unlikely to affect iPhone production and many have upgraded their forecasts for Apple's fourth financial quarter, which ends on September 29, and the run-up to Christmas.