Global volume demand for lithium batteries that power xEVs (plug-in vehicles) is estimated to reach 1.7 billion units in 2016 and grow by 17% annually to 2 billion units in 2017, according to EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce. EnergyTrend reports that the China has taken measures to curb excessive subsidy payments to domestic xEV manufacturers during the second half of 2016. Thus, the delay in subsidy payments and investigation on potential cases of subsidy fraud have impacted market demand for xEV batteries in the short term. With the investigation winding down, China’s xEV market is expected to make full recovery and again become the key demand driver for xEV batteries in 2017.
LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, reports that the global average selling prices (ASPs) of LED light bulbs saw greater monthly drops in November than in October as branded light bulb vendors started to offer year-end promotional discounts and released new low-price products on the market.
Prices in the contract and spot markets for PC DRAM kept climbing between October and November, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. The average contract price of PC DRAM 4GB modules increased by 2.86% monthly to arrive at US$18 in November, while the average spot prices of DDR3 and DDR4 4Gb chips respectively rose 6% and 2% monthly to reach US$2.6 and US$2.53. The general state of the PC DRAM market in November suggests that the upward price trend will continue in the future.
Shipments of LCD TV sets worldwide for 2016 are estimated to grow by 1.9% annually to around 220 million units, according to the latest analysis by WitsView, a division of TrendForce. At the start of 2017, the U.S. consumer market will be bumpy in the short term due to the results of the country’s presidential election. If the U.S. Federal Reserve decides to raise the key interest rates next year, domestic consumer spending will recover and the country will again play a major role in sustaining global TV sales. WitsView forecasts that global TV shipments for 2017 will reach 225 million units, up 2.5% compared with the prior year.
Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (abbreviation QCT, here referred to as Qualcomm) tops the projected ranking of the top 10 fabless IC design houses worldwide based on annual revenues for 2016, according to TrendForce’s analysis. Broadcom Limited is expected to be runner-up, while MediaTek will take third place. The ranking positions of these three companies are fairly secure in the short term because collectively they would represent about 65% of the total revenue generated all the design houses that are listed on this year’s top 10 ranking.