The catastrophe in Japan has had the effect of increasing supply bottlenecks for the electronics business. Alongside terminal devices, important preliminary products, parts and components, such as wafers, chips and sensors, are made in Japan for the high-tech industry.

The effects of the catastrophe in Japan on electronic equipment manufacturers and traders are becoming more acute. This is the finding of a random sample survey carried out by high-tech association Bitkom. According to the information gathered from enterprises, these are being overwhelmed with repair work. Many factories are only just recommencing production and, of these, many are not yet operating at full capacity. Alongside terminal devices, important preliminary products, parts and components, such as wafers, chips and sensors, are made in Japan for the high-tech industry.

Four out of five of the enterprises which took part in the survey buy goods or pre-products from Japanese production. 17 per cent of manufacturers and dealers are currently reporting supply bottlenecks in devices, components or parts. 19 per cent are expecting restrictions to continue in the coming weeks and 29 per cent assume that restrictions will come into play in the next few months. Only one-fifth of those asked are not expecting any adverse effects. The disaster in Japan is also affecting prices. 21 per cent of manufacturers and dealers are already seeing increases in the prices of products, components or parts. 21 per cent expect prices to rise in the next few weeks and 17 per cent assume that increases will occur in the coming months. 19 per cent are not expecting any price increases and 10 per cent are undecided.

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