From
THE FULL NELSON
Oversupply of FreeMarkets
Thursday, Jun. 8, 2000 17:05 PDT
By Tom Nelson, America-iNvest.com
Capacitor Market Update
May was an active month for all tantalum and ceramic capacitors in the open market, say NECX (Peabody, MA, USA) analysts, and thus far, June has begun even busier. The demand for all surface mount versions of both styles continues to heat up, causing increasing prices weekly for all tantalum and ceramic caps.
According to product manager Andy Broe, low-ESR (equivalent series resistance) tantalums have been exceptionally tight, with little or no product to be found on the open market. Prices for the 227, 337, and 107 case sizes reflect this: cost currently stands at $3.00/each and up. Unfortunately, there appears to be little relief to this situation in sight, as no availability is appearing in Asia or Europe. Many manufacturers have been forced to search for even moderate quantities.
While the market for ceramics and tantalums has remained active for some time now, the floor reports that demand for aluminum surface mount caps has also become an open market issue. Broe explained that aluminum caps are used mostly in automotive and other mechanical applications. The ongoing shortage of tantalum and ceramic parts is causing some manufacturers to shift existing capacity away from aluminum, and all new construction is targeted for tantalum and ceramic caps as well. As a result, Broe told Semiconductor Online, even the more moderate growth seen in the aluminum segment exceeds available supplies. Brokers say it is still too early to claim that demand for aluminum caps will rival ceramics and tantalums, they suggest that interested parties keep a close watch on their market positions.
america-invest.com
Worth a read. |
