Strong demand, limited capacity will boost PMIC tags
Expect a seller’s market for power management integrated circuits for the rest of the year because of strong demand and limited production capacity. A double-digit increase in unit demand, tight supply and higher prices will result in the worldwide power management integrated circuit (PMIC) growing 19 per cent this year. PMIC unit demand will rise 13 per cent while prices will increase five percent, resulting in revenue growing from $14.6 billion in 2020 to $17. 4 billion in 2021, according to researcher IC Insights. Unit demand will increase through 2025. Unit shipments rose 68.4 billion in 2020 to 77.5 billion…
Distributors see increased opportunities from automotive
Some distributors say their sales to the automotive supply chain are rising because of semiconductor shortages, rising electronic content in cars and the trend towards electric vehicles. Automotive represents a small percentage of electronics distributors’ overall sales, but distributors say there has been a sharp increase in demand by automakers and their key systems suppliers and contract manufacturers fueled by severe shortages of some semiconductors. Some distributors say demand by automotive customers may be short lived while others say there is a paradigm shift occurring and automotive OEMs will continue to use the distribution channel even after shortages abate. Catalog…
Tight supply and less price erosion is expected for 32-bit MCUs
Growing demand from key customer segments and the transition from 16-bit and 8-bit MCUs to 32-bit microcontrollers will result in robust sales growth for 32-bit controllers. Semiconductor buyers can expect constrained supply of 32-bit microcontrollers at least through the first half of 2020 because of strong demand from automotive, medical and industrial equipment OEMs and their contract manufacturers. Lead times have stretched since the first of the year and could stretch further in the second quarter, according to industry analysts. Strong demand will result in nearly 9 per cent revenue growth for the 32-bit MCU market as sales rise to…
Small, specialized distributors deal with disruptions caused by the pandemic
Long lead times, transportation delays, and finding new customers are some of the issues that small, specialized distributors face. Last year was a challenging time for most distributors, including small, specialized distributors which have smaller line cards and fewer customers and resources than larger broad line distributors. But such distributors have risen to the challenge and have managed to be competitive and in some cases grow sales despite the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the overall electronics supply chain. With fewer customers and limited line cards, it would seem that specialized distributors would be more at risk when…
Constrained supply challenges buyers
Buyers qualify new suppliers, share long-range forecasts and look to distributors for help in sourcing parts that are in short supply – by James Carbone. By most accounts, supply of semiconductors and other components will be constrained through the first half of 2021 and buyers at OEMs and electronics manufacturing services providers are employing strategies and tactics to make sure their companies get all the parts needed to keep production lines running. While most buyers like to have a limited number of suppliers, some are qualifying new suppliers for commodities and finding alternative parts for shortage components in an effort…
The buyer’s market for high-brightness LEDs will continue in 2021
While demand for high-brightness LEDs will grow this year, availability will remain high and prices will decline because of overcapacity. Oversupply, overall weaker demand from key customer segments and declining prices resulted in a 10 per cent decline in the high-brightness LED (HB-LED) market in 2020 as total LED revenue fell from $13.1 billion in 2019 to $11.8 billion in 2020. HB-LEDs represent about 92.4 per cent of the total LED market which declined from $14.2 billion in 2019 to $12.7 billion in 2020, according to market researcher IC Insights. “Most of the semiconductor segments have seen growth this year…