Overcapacity Hits Handsets
By Staff -- TWICE, 10/14/2002
BOSTON— Contract electronic manufacturers and original design manufacturers who have overbuilt wireless-handset production capacity, "could fuel the proliferation of a growing mass of third-tier reference design handset vendors," Strategy Analytics concludes.
The manufacturers are "aggressively searching out new customers in Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries to full underutilized capacity," the research company said.
The report also contends that contract manufacturers are increasing their share. In 2002, 26 percent of handsets worldwide will be made by contract manufacturers, whose share will grow to 38 percent in 2007, "as first- and second-tier handset vendors seek lower costs, production flexibility, and economies of scale," the company said.
The report also said Flextronics is the world's third largest wireless-handset maker after Nokia and Motorola.
