Passives Market Up, Crystal Oscillator Prices Down

March 17, 2003

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...

Roger Allan

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].

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.