Passives Market Up, Crystal Oscillator Prices Down

China holds the key to passive component market growth, says iSuppli's Jan. 27 Market Watch. Analyst Shawn Woods believes a shortage of passive components may be on the horizon, caused by the good inventory controls most passive component suppliers enacted last year. He sees passives growing in revenue by 7% and unit shipments increasing 22% this year. The one caveat is that several capacitor makers in China plan to expand. In fact, he predicts that Chinese suppliers are looking at a 28% revenue growth this year. A complementary copy of "Potential Tight Spots in 2003, Unless China Adds Capacity" is available from [email protected] with a return e-mail address. Also in the Jan. 27 Market Watch, Scott Smyser predicts crystal oscillators in 5- by 7-in. ceramic packages will gain market ground, with prices expected to continue to fall. North American pricing for surface-mount-device (SMD) 100-ppm-stable versions will drop from last year's approximate $0.84 to about $0.75 by the end of this year. Prices slid in Asia during the same period from about $0.70 to $0.64. Smyser forecasts a price erosion of nearly 6% for the North American market and nearly 12% for Asia. For more on this report, contact [email protected].