Taiwanese contract manufacturers are poised to grab a larger slice of the worldwide digital consumer electronics pie, as latest studies showed that their shipments in digital cameras, mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) will post nearly 50 percent growth this year.
Digital cameras manufactured by Taiwanese vendors will hit 32 million units this year, up 51 percent from last year. This translates to a global market share of 44 percent, according to a report released by Taipei-based market researcher Market Intelligence Center (MIC, 市場情報中心) last week.
Taiwan's global share is expected to rise to 50 percent next year, with production volumes passing 40 million units, the report said.
"Digital cameras have reached saturation in the mature markets of the US, Europe and Japan, and most brandname vendors are now slashing prices to attract users to upgrade to newer models with better functions," MIC analyst Marty Kung (
As US-based Kodak Eastman Co has been successful in pushing lower-priced camera models by bundling them with photo printers to boost sales, its rapid gain in market share will benefit Taiwanese contract manufacturers, he added.
Under pricing pressure, some major Japanese vendors, such as Nikon and Olympus, have released orders to local manufacturers in a bid to lower production costs, according to Kung.
This is good news for local first-tier camera assemblers, as improvements to their process technology means they are catching up with their Japanese peers. These makers, consisting of Premier Image Technology Corp (普立爾), Asia Optical Co (亞光), Ability Enterprise Co (佳能) and Altek Corp (華晶科技), have taken up 80 percent of the local market this year, Kung said.
Meanwhile, mobile phones produced in Taiwan are slated to grow to 76.8 million units this year, up 46.8 percent from last year, according to MIC's estimates.
"The whole year's growth will be mainly pushed by stable orders from Motorola and Sony Ericsson," said another MIC analyst Jeffrey Tai (
Based on the institute's forecast, the peak is expected to fall this quarter, bolstered by increased overseas and local orders. There will be 31 million units produced, which is 86 percent sequential growth and a 103 percent increase from a year ago.
According to Tai, as BenQ Mobile (明基行動通訊) -- the group established after BenQ Corp (明基) acquired Siemens AG's handset business -- started operating early this month, the orders it released to Taiwanese vendors will also help boost local shipments in the fourth quarter through early next year.
Another high-growth segment is PDAs, as local shipments are forecast to hit 13.73 million units by the year's end, up 52 percent from last year's number, MIC's forecast showed.
According to MIC's deputy general director Cynthia Chyn (
“There will be record-high volumes during the October-December period, as
branded vendors are set to introduce a slew of GPS PDAs and phone PDAs
specifically for the Christmas spending period,” Chyn said.
Shipments in the fourth quarter alone will hit 4.16 million units, posting
20 percent sequential growth and up 42 percent from a year ago, she said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
RSS