Supply of Electronics Slows due to Disaster in Japan
Americans and Europeans may soon begin to feel the financial effects of Japan's recent earthquake and tsunami. Plant shutdowns across Japan have threatened the global supplies of parts for electronics and cars.
According to a report by Reuters, "even where factories in Japan are operating, power outages, shortages of fuel and raw materials and ruptured logistics mean products and parts face delays in getting to customers." In addition, even if the supplies are produced, there is no way to get them out of the country, as airlines have trouble getting in and out of the country.
Apple will not be able to source pars for the iPad 2s everyone has been lining up to get. Computer batteries, LCD screens, and parts for televisions and phones that other electronics companies need will also be in short supply. "Japan's grip on the global electronics supply chain is causing particular concern. The world's third-biggest economy exported 7.2 trillion yen ($91.3 billion) worth of electronic parts last year, according to Mirae Asset Securities," Reuters wrote.
In addition, European and American car manufacturers whose transmissions and various electronic parts are produced in Japan have been forced to slow production. European automobile unions say about 2,400 cars will not be made due to stoppages. Not to mention the issues that Japanese carmakers will be facing now and in the future.
For now, the there doesn’t seem to be much of an issue, but "this will start to bite home in a few weeks' time when the first shortages start to appear, and hit hard even further in about three months' time when the production that isn't being made today should have been coming online," Malcolm Penn, chief executive of technology research firm Future Horizons told the BBC.
This article was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site of TechNewsDaily.
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