As prices of China’s polysilicon spot market continue its upward ascend, it triggered price hikes in Asia’s polysilicon market that in turn caused cost increases for wafer manufacturers. Continual raw material price upticks are compressing silicon wafer manufacturers’ profits. Under operation pressure, wafer manufacturers are also considering raising silicon wafer prices.
According to the survey by WitsView, the display research division of the global intelligence provider TrendForce, the global top ten LCD monitor brands’ 2013 shipment will be around 120 million units, declining 7.1% from 2012.
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, due to the memory price drops and the shrinking spot market, the 2012 global module revenues reached $US 5.5 billion, a 13% decrease from 2011's $US 6.3 billion.
According to global market research firm TrendForce, smartphone manufacturing costs are decreasing – in 2014, low-end devices that cost less than US$150 are expected to represent 14% of total smartphone shipments worldwide, up from 11% forecasted for this year.
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the differences among smartphone brands will grow increasingly less noticeable as mobile component parts and hardware specs become standardized.