ELECTRONIC BUYING CONDITIONS

By Staff -- Purchasing, 10/19/2000

Electronic component shortages ease

Fewer electronics buyers reported shortages of parts in September, according to Purchasing Magazine's monthly survey of buying conditions.

Only 38% of buyers reported that there were parts in short supply. That's down from 48% in August and 53% in July.

Component manufacturers say they have been increasing production of parts, but the figures could just reflect the summer slowdown in production when parts are less in demand. More parts could go into short supply in the fourth quarter when OEMs boost production for the holiday selling season.

Fewer buyers are reporting longer leadtimes. Only 41% said leadtimes were stretching in September, down from 54% in August. Fifty-four percent said leadtimes were steady, up from 42% from the month before.

Meanwhile, buyers are reporting a mixed bag concerning prices. Thirty-eight percent say prices are rising, up from 31% in August. But 19% report falling tags. That's up from 4% from the previous month.

Ceramic cap tags rise

Six months ago, the analysts at Thinking Cap Solutions said capacitor prices would rise. But what a surprisingly strong rise it has been! By August 2000, prices for all capacitors were up 32% from year-ago levels. Tags for multilayer ceramic dielectric chips soared a whopping 159.3% over the same period. By the time all is said and done in 2000, average prices in the U.S. capacitors (SIC 3675) industry will be up 22%, while the industry's direct manufacturing costs will be up only 5.2%. In 2001, Thinking Cap Solutions sees a return to normalcy and projects average prices to fall 0.5% as costs decline 0.2%.