Earthquake in Japan Affects Global IT Industry in April or Product Shortage

Japan’s earthquake, tsunami, and consequent power shortage will affect the global supply of electronic components in the short term, and may even push up the prices of certain equipment. The market research organization iSuppli conducted the analysis.

Due to lack of electricity and poor traffic, the output of Flash memory, memory, microcontrollers, LCD panels and accessories, and standard circuit accessories will decline.

At the same time, Japan is still the world's largest supplier of silicon, providing 60% of the world's consumption. Its output decline will undoubtedly affect the entire IT industry, from memory to general accessories.

Judging from the current situation, although the severely damaged infrastructure in Japan will slow down the supply of these equipment, because the global supply chain still has about two weeks of inventory, the real shortage and the price increase will be postponed to four. It only appeared in the month and may continue until the third quarter of this year. In addition, since the disaster, semiconductor inventory has been at a high level, which will help delay the arrival of the shortage.

Due to the psychological impact of the disaster, the current high-end Flash memory has a 10% price increase, but in the OEM market, the contract price of memory should remain stable. In the spot market, the price of memory fluctuates. It has risen by 7% since Friday. Although the contract price is still relatively stable, with the resumption of contract negotiations, a small amount of price increase is possible.

Toshiba, the world's second-largest manufacturer of flash memory, believes that its factory shipments in central Japan will be reduced by 20%. However, this shortfall should be made up by Samsung and there will be no problem with the supply of iPad 2 and other tablets;

Hitachi's small-to-medium size display production lines are severely affected by the quake and have now ceased production. Even if it is not damaged much, the output will still be affected due to the power shortage. If the current situation continues, the display supply of the Nintendo DS game consoles and LG mobile devices may encounter difficulties;

Although Panasonic's 6th-generation LCD production line has not been severely hit, power shortages will still lead to a drop in output, which may affect the price of Panasonic TV and certain Chinese brands;

The key component of the LCD panel, Fujifilm's facilities for color polarizer makers, has also been affected, which may affect the price of this component.

In addition to these current accessories, the PS3, as well as a large number of Japanese vehicles, may also be affected, and the impact of the earthquake and tsunami on the global supply chain will be significant.