28 June 2011 |
Adam Leach
Japan’s earthquake
and tsunami brought disruption to the electronics industry’s supply chain, but its effect was “less than feared”, according to
research.
Data gathered by Gartner
found the semiconductor sector is expected to grow by 5.1 per cent in 2011, generating
$315 billion global revenue (£197 billion). This is much higher than the 4.6 per cent prediction amounting to $314 billion (£196
billion) that was previously forecast for the year by Gartner.
The research finds
the industry has minimised the risk to its supply chain, despite fears raised
in the wake of the Japan disaster over the supplies of silicon wafers,
batteries and a variety of other components used in the electronics sector.
Peter Middleton,
principal research analyst at Gartner, said: “The disaster in Japan clearly had
an impact on the semiconductor market and supply chain behaviour, but it is
less than initially feared.”
Japan
is the world’s largest supplier of silicon used to make semiconductor chips –
60 per cent of the global total. Semiconductor parts include flash memory chips
used in USB drives and MP3 players, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), small
computers called microcontrollers and liquid-crystal display parts, including
panels used in televisions and computer screens.
Middleton said: “In
the last two weeks of March, vendors stepped up efforts to secure supply in the
face of uncertainty and potential shortfalls, leading to some double ordering that
continued into the second quarter.”
He admitted there
may still be a few surprises in store as a result of problems in Japan, but
expects production will start to start to normalise in the third quarter with order
numbers returning to pre-tsunami levels.
Procurement professionals recently discussed how supply chain risks caused by natural disasters can be overcome. During
the CPO Agenda Question Time debate in
London last week (23 June), Nick Wildgoose of Zurich Financial Services urged
purchasers to check whether any of their supply operations were located in
earthquake or flood zones by asking insurers.