Component prices rising, with some on allocation
The latest Component Health Watch from iSuppli shows prices rising almost across the board in the 26 component categories monitored. Alongside reporting increases in prices, iSuppli is also pointing to supply and demand difficulties for many commodity products and allocation on some.
Standard logic devices appear to be the biggest problem. According to the market information specialist, supply of standard logic ics has been constrained and it believes most tier 2, distribution and EMS customers have either experienced line downs or allocation challenges.
Pointing to a glimmer of hope, iSuppli says there are some indications that supply will start to address market demand, with suppliers taking advantage of what it calls 'installed burst capacity reserves'. Although allocation could last for the rest of 2010, iSuppli expects pricing will remain stable.
Meanwhile, iSuppli says demand for power mosfets started to outpace supply in Q1. Unlike standard logic, shortages here are likely to have a noticeable effect on prices in the short term, with stabilisation later in the year.
Mounting pressure on front and back end processes at most mosfet suppliers, says the company, means continued lead time extensions and some devices from leading suppliers moving to allocation for the rest of the year.
