power management chips are in short supply. Research and research agency TrendForce said that since power management chips (PMICs) are short-term materials for semiconductor shortage, the price increase has continued so far. The average sales unit price of this year will rise by nearly 10%, setting a record high in the past six years. We need to pay attention to future changes in market supply and demand in the second half of next year.
This year's power management chip price has risen by 10%
Due to factors such as full capacity and shortage of raw materials, power management chip suppliers have set a long delivery period, and consumer electronic chip delivery period has been extended to 12 to 26 weeks; automotive chip delivery period has reached 40 to 52 weeks , and some exclusively produced models have even stopped taking orders.
TrendForce believes that the demand for power management chips will continue to be strong in the fourth quarter, and the overall production capacity is still in short supply. With IDM operators leading the rise, the price of power management chips will remain high. Although there are still variables in the epidemic, and the 8-inch wafer production capacity is difficult to expand significantly, TI's new factory RFAB2 will be completed and mass-produced in the second half of 2022. In addition, the foundry industry plans to push some power management chips produced by 8-inch wafers to 12-inch, which moderately alleviates the high possibility of insufficient power management chip production capacity.
From the perspective of the global supply chain, the current power management chip production capacity is not only mainly controlled by IDM manufacturers, but also includes TI (Texas Instruments), Infineon, ADI, ST, NXP, ON Semiconductor, Renesas, Microchip, ROHM (of which Maxim has been acquired by ADI, Dialog has been acquired by Renesas); IC design industry players such as Qualcomm and MediaTek have also obtained some production capacity in the hands of foundries, among which TI has a leading position. The above-mentioned companies account for more than 80% .
From the perspective of product structure, with the continuous increase in demand for consumer electronics, communications, industrial control, and automotive terminals, coupled with the product changes driven by industrial transformation, the use of power management chips in the global market has increased significantly. Consumer electronics products are the largest application field of power management chips. Although there have been noises in recent demand for laptops, Chromebooks, smart phones and TVs, a few simple-constructed items such as low-dropout linear voltage regulators (LDOs) have indeed slowed down. However, due to the structural increase in the demand for power management chips of electronic products, some models are still in short supply.
In addition, with the recovery of the automobile market, electric vehicles, automotive electronics, and ADAS have grown rapidly, and the technical requirements for power control, management and charging have been improved. There are many automotive chip inspection projects. Currently, IDM operators' automotive chip orders have generally been scheduled until the end of 2022.
Aluminum electrolytic capacitor price has risen by 10%
Recently, aluminum electrolytic capacitors have repeatedly increased their prices, not only because of the increase in costs, but also because of tight supply. Industry insiders analyzed that in addition to the instability of aluminum supply in China's power supply, another reason for is that the long-term expansion policies of the three major Japanese aluminum power plants, Nippon Chemi-Con, Nichicon and Rubycon, are relatively cautious. With the rapid increase in market demand, has made supply and demand more in short supply, and has a very shortage of high-end products, and it is expected that it will be difficult to relieve in the short term.
Industry insiders analyzed that data centers, servers, etc. have a great demand for aluminum and electricity. In recent years, with the rapid growth of high-speed computing and cloud demand, not only the overall quantity has grown, but the use of aluminum and electricity for a single device has also increased. But manufacturers did not realize that there was no significant expansion of factory construction, resulting in supply failure to keep up with demand growth.
passive component agent Nitto said that key components continue to be out of stock, and the epidemic has not yet soothed, the overall demand in the fourth quarter is cautiously optimistic, and the overall supply of passive components is stable. -day E-Trade expects that supply issues will still restrict production next year, and some passive components may be out of stock until the first half of next year.
Observing the uncertain factors of supply and demand in the capacitor market, Nippon Trade pointed out that it includes parts shortages, supply chain breaks, rising raw materials, global epidemic, manpower shortage, China's power limit, loss pollution, extreme climate, etc. According to the legal person, the price of aluminum electrolytic capacitors may increase by more than 5%.
In addition, under high cost pressure, the contract price of Japanese aluminum power plants for domestic first-tier large power plants has been smoothly adjusted, with an increase of up to 10%. The new price has taken effect on the 1st of this month . The reason for this price increase is mainly due to the high electricity prices and raw materials prices. Taiwan-based aluminum power plants are expected to follow up on the reaction price, and the increase may be between 10% and 15% . In terms of ceramic capacitors, general common products are in the inventory adjustment period, and automotive products are gentle but still need to be observed; demand for high-end specifications continues to grow and prices are stable. Some manufacturers have already negotiated for next year, because the cost of freight and raw materials has increased, and the price reduction is limited.
Polymer tantalum, polymer aluminum, aluminum electrolytics, and hybrid capacitors, the overall delivery period is still around 25 weeks. The supply of raw materials continues to be in short supply, and the overall demand and application are growing steadily. The market still has a tendency to increase prices, and the pressure on freight and raw materials costs has increased significantly.
Looking forward to next year's market conditions, Nippon Trade said that the market predicts that the overall electronics industry will continue to grow significantly next year, but supply problems continue to exist. The current order situation is good, but supply problems limit production, resulting in a backlog problem. There is a continued shortage of key components and raw materials, and some aluminum electrolytic capacitors and passive component products may be out of stock until the first half of next year. However, the overall supply surface of passive components in the fourth quarter of this year is stable.
