Japan's electronic parts export growth is being trampled

Order growth in Japan's large electronic component companies has been stepped on. The total orders of six companies including Kyocera and TDK in October-December 2015 remained at the same level as the same period of the previous year, which was a sharp decline from the two-digit growth that lasted for about three years. In China, the largest destination for supply, the production momentum of electronic products has slowed down, which has had a negative impact. Electronic components are Japan's main export products, and slower orders growth will become a disadvantage to lower the Japanese economy.



Japan Economic News (Chinese version: Nikkei Chinese) conducted independent statistics on the orders of some of the major companies in Japan related industries such as Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Nidec Corporation, Nitto Denko and Alps Electric (some of which are sales). . As a result, the total order value from October to December 2015 increased by only about 1% from the same period of the previous year to less than 1.4 trillion yen. Although the total amount is still at the highest level in history, it has created the lowest growth rate of about 4 years since January-March 2012 due to the impact of the 3.11 earthquake and the floods in Thailand.

In the context of China's economic slowdown, electronic parts orders continue to grow centering on smart phones and automobiles. However, due to the slowdown in world economic growth, the production of Chinese companies has lost its previous strong momentum. In this context, electronic components are also inevitably affected.

Kyocera's orders fell by more than 6% from the same period of the previous year due to the decline in supply of semiconductor protection parts for communication base stations. The speed of construction of base stations used for high-speed mobile communications and previous growth has declined. In addition, due to the slowdown in the smart phone market, Nitto Denko has experienced a decline in liquid crystal related parts.

Murata's order growth rate is 7 to 9%, which is slower than the previous 20 to 30%. The increase in the number of components brought about by the high functionality of smart phones and the increase in the supply of cars for increased demand for electronic components have ensured growth.

Due to the strong performance of automotive parts and components, Japan's electric power production is expected to maintain a growth rate of around 10%, but it seems that the market for air conditioners in China is in a difficult battle. The construction of high-end residential and building buildings has been stagnant due to oversupply, which has had a negative impact. According to Japanese large air-conditioning companies, the inventory of air-conditioning products in China has reached tens of millions, and continues to increase. "Sales recovery may take a long time."

The US Apple's production of new products from January to March 2016 also constituted a blow. Apple's "iPhone 6" with larger screen size has leapt to the top of the Chinese smart phone market, but the new "iPhone6s" is considered to have no significant improvement, "sales dropped by about 20%" (related people).

Some people believe that the orders for electronic components of related Japanese companies will be flat or declining from January to March 2016. According to Nan Chuanming, chief analyst of IHS GLobal, "Supply of smart phones is expected to improve after the summer of the new model, but the supply of other equipment will face a severe situation throughout 2016."

Japan’s exports are dominated by cars and electronic components. In 2014, the export volume of electronic components including semiconductors reached 3.6908 trillion yen, accounting for 5% of the total exports, which is the largest exporter after 14.9% of automobiles. Auto exports have shown signs of recovery with the effects of strong North American exports and new car sales, but if electronic parts exports continue to slow, they will have a huge impact on the stagnant Japanese economy.