Recently, the price fluctuations of some of TI's chips in the spot market have caused industry shocks.
It is reported that TI has issued a notice to customers that the imbalance between supply and demand in the second half of the year has been alleviated. Before this, it has been reported in the industry that some of TI's chips have "dropped in price" by 80% in the past two months.
From the perspective of the industry, this has released a signal that the once most in short supply of analog chips is no longer out of stock, and the price increase in the chip industry may come to an end.
As of press time, Texas Instruments has not responded to the above news. However, in the interview with the distributor in the contract market, the first financial reporter learned that the overall order price of TI is still strong at present, but the demand has declined compared with previous years. In the spot market, some of TI's power management ICs did experience price fluctuations. Take the general-purpose consumer power management chip with the model TPS61021 as an example. The price of this chip has dropped from the highest point of 45 yuan last year to about 3 yuan at present. There are many inquiries from customers, but few actual orders, mainly because the market demand has decreased.
Some analog chip prices have gone from "surge" to "slump"
The structural growth of long-term demand and the short-term imbalance of the superimposed supply chain have led to a large-scale shortage of semiconductor production capacity, of which analog chips are the hardest hit.
"In unconventional channels, the price of analog chips in the first half of last year can be shouted more than five times." A chip supply chain analyst told reporters that the large PMIC (power management integrated circuit) of notebook computers was about $0.8 a piece before. This price has already been raised, but if it is sold through informal channels, even if it is sold for $5, many people will be rushing to buy it.
PMIC power management chip is one of the most affected categories in the shortage of chips last year. It is regarded as the "heart" of power supply for electronic equipment and is responsible for the management and control functions such as power conversion, distribution, and detection required by electronic equipment. One of the largest segments of analog chips.
However, affected by market demand, such chips have experienced large price fluctuations this year.
According to statistics from the electronics industry media Core World, the price of standard consumer analog chips has fallen sharply this round, and many have fallen to the norm. But overall, special-purpose analog chips still maintain a high price relative to general-purpose chips.
Elvis Hsu, general manager of CINNO Research Semiconductor Division, told reporters that analog IC applications are mainly divided into two categories: standard and special application analog ICs, including Voltage Regulators, Amplifiers, power management ICs, etc., which are widely used in computers, consumer, communication , home appliances, military, industry and other fields, covering almost the entire IT industry. "The chips used in mobile phones, PCs, and LCDs are the hardest hit areas for this round of slowdown in demand for analog chips."
Zeng Guanwei, an analyst at TrendForce, told reporters that demand for electronic products including mobile phones, laptops, TVs, and home appliances is flat. Therefore, analog ICs (such as amplifiers) that are not packaged, low-specification, and short-delivery will reach a balance between supply and demand. This leads to price fluctuations.
Demand for Tl was lower in May, according to data from the spot market report from Quiksol, a hybrid distributor of electronic components. The OEM surplus and the market inventory are constantly increasing, the market price has stabilized, and there is no longer a shortage of consumer chips and driver chips, but TI's automotive chips and MCUs are still in short supply.
A marketer from a domestic head component distributor company told reporters that in the past, due to the very high demand in the chip market, the attitudes of upstream manufacturers were relatively strong, but after the demand fell, (they) changed their attitudes and even provided chips" “Discount” offers, and some other analog chip suppliers who have been wildly raising prices have also changed their attitude recently, and there is room for negotiation to adjust prices.
The person in charge of another distributor told reporters that the so-called "slump" in prices is not a widespread phenomenon, because not all open procurement websites are sales channels approved by the original chip manufacturers, and the prices in the open market are subject to certain personal awareness. As a result, prices have soared or plummeted. But people do pay more attention to price changes than in the past, instead of "getting what's available" as in the past.
"There are several factors that affect the price for reference. First, the output of domestic chips is increasing, and the domestic satisfaction of corresponding products has improved. Second, the recovery trend of the European and American markets is relatively obvious, and the demand has increased, which has brought the demand of European and American brands. The increase in volume will occupy the production capacity of the original domestic demand to a certain extent. Moreover, changes in certain domestic market demand will partially affect the corresponding material supply and demand balance." The above-mentioned person in charge told reporters.
Regarding the subsequent market price fluctuations, Couterpoint analyst Brady told reporters that the current supply in the chip market has begun to stabilize, and there will not be much price changes in the short term. "In the long run, there must be a price drop, mainly from the spot market. The price fluctuations in the contract market will not be too severe, and the price after the drop is now higher than the water level before the price increase, which should be said to return to a reasonable state. "
Market research agency Jefferies Group warned not long ago that the chip supply chain inventory has increased, and terminal demand has shown signs of decline. In the second half of 2022 or early 2023, chips may enter a "flood period".
