Japanese companies affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis disaster trifecta which hit northeastern regions of the country in March have slowly but surely taken strides toward rebuilding damaged factories and restoring operations to their former levels. Research experts at IHS iSuppli now believe that even those companies hit the hardest - such as semiconductor providers - will "fully recover" by this year's third quarter.
The findings fall in line with the research firm's sensible stance that companies closest to the earthquake's epicenter were both disrupted the most and would require the longest time to recover. One company, however, shirked that notion: Fujitsu.
Dale Ford, IHS Senior Vice President for Semiconductor Market Intelligence, applauded the company's "rapid and efficient recovery" despite some of its factories being near the earthquake's epicenter. The analyst pointed out that five Fujitsu chip plants were back to full operational capacity as soon as June 9th - months earlier than expected. Ford chalked up the company's relatively quick restart to "an effective plan that can restore electricity, water and other utilities at disaster-stricken plants" which was implemented after a similar earthquake struck in 2008. While the Japanese say it differently, it's pretty clear they also put stock in the phrase "better safe than sorry."
The widespread recovery will come not a moment too soon said Ford, who revealed that the standard (and largest) annual growth in the semiconductor market would simultaneously occur in the third quarter.
"In the history of the electronics supply chain, nothing has had such a broad impact as the Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster," said Ford. "The worldwide repercussions of the catastrophe illustrated the global and interconnected nature of the electronics industry, with the impact of the disaster reverberating through the materials, components and equipment segments of the supply chain."
Some previous post-earthquake concerns regarding the vast amount of consumer electronics Japan manufactures and exports have not yet been completely overcome, however. An additional IHS study announced that LCD panel pricing is set to increase though demand is "weak" for TVs and computer monitors in the west.
"Despite this alarming sales situation, pricing is on the rise for all of the major LCD applications with panel buyers replenishing their stockpiles in order to build buffer inventory, in case of further supply disruptions spurred by the Japan disaster, and as panel suppliers reduced utilization rates to control production," said Sweta Dash, IHS Senior Director for LCDs.
With a full-scale recovery seemingly on the horizon, stockpiling may soon prove unnecessary. (via IHS iSuppli)
