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James Carbone -- Purchasing, 3/18/2004 2:00:00 AM
Buying conditions for electronics may get a little dicey as the year progresses.
Distributors and suppliers say 2004 is off to a good start. They say revenue was up in January and February compared to the first two months of 2003. The pickup in business that began in the third quarter seems to have carried over to 2004. Leading electronics industry indicators such as book-to-bill ratios for printed circuit boards, semiconductor equipment and connectors seem to support a recovery.
While a full-fledged recovery is obviously good news, it will pose some challenges for electronics purchasers. Buyers can expect tighter supply conditions as the year progresses, with leadtimes stretching and then pulling back.
The good news is while pricing will firm after falling for several years, there will be few large price increases for components. The exceptions could be DRAM, but that would be due to mix issues. Suppliers will make too much of one part configuration and not enough of another. With DRAMs, the supply scenario could be complicated because some memory IC suppliers are switching capacity from DRAM to NAND flash. That could create some temporary DRAM shortages. However, for flash buyers it could result in an oversupply of NAND. In fact, many analysts predict a decline in NAND flash tags because of capacity transition.
Expect NAND flash prices to rise
07/15/2009DRAM inventories fall
09/28/2006Expect NAND flash shortage in 2010
10/07/2009
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