Global market for passive components remains anemic

The passive component market remains anemic globally, with three consecutive quarters of global decline, which is the result of regional slowdowns in consumption in key end-use segments; coupled with the strong dollar in comparison to the Japanese yen, New Taiwan dollar and Korean won, writes Dennis Zogbi for TTI's MarketEye. Lead times for capacitors, resistors and inductors have remained in the 12 to 13 weak range since July 2014 and reflect steady, but anemic levels of global demand. Prices for raw materials consumed in passive components have declined sharply in July and August suggesting weakness in the larger global economy. End-markets, such as the computer segment remain challenging, but this is being offset somewhat by demand from smaller specialty markets, especially those in electric vehicles, renewable energy, and medical electronics. "We forecast only low, single digit growth for the September quarter, and expect similar low single digit growth rates for the 2016 fiscal year as a whole", he continues.