Taiwan’s DVD makers under price pressure due to global capacity expansion

Taiwan’s producers of blank DVD-R/+R discs are expected to face continued price drops this year due to the expansion of global production capacity. However, major manufacturers in Taiwan are striving to maintain their profitability through raising yield rates, upgrading products, and securing certification from OEM clients.

According to Taiwanese makers, their total production capacity will be expanded to at least 150 million DVD-R/+R discs a month by the end of this year. Producers in other countries, including Japanese Taiyo Yuden, Mitsubishi, TDK and Maxell as well as India-based MBI, reportedly will expand their production capacities this year as well.

The global DVD-R/+R demand for this year is estimated to be 1.5-2 billion discs, according to several market survey companies.

To cope with the threatening oversupply, Taiwan’s top and second-tier makers of DVD-R/+R discs are making efforts to raise yield rates to 95% and 90%, respectively, from 70%-80% in 2003 and shift production from 4x to 8x discs. In addition, they are trying to pass product certification by major players in the DVD burner market such as Sony, Pioneer, and Philips for secure OEM pricing and orders.


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