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A new survey report from Global Sources, the China-based PV manufacturers, reveals that the company is attempting to reduce production costs to enable lower pricing due to stiff competition and high, double-digit overcapacity.
"Manufacturers are generally optimistic, with 97 percent expecting
exports to increase over the next 12 months,” said Spenser Au, report
publisher, Global Sources. “However, with excess capacity in the high
double-digits, a larger number of suppliers are reducing prices to gain
orders."
The survey noted that 88 percent of China-based
suppliers plan to decrease or keep prices stable, while only 12 percent
plan to increase prices in the coming months.
"With the
polysilicon shortage expected to continue until 2009, most
manufacturers are implementing measures to streamline production,"
added Au. "These include expanding to gain economies of scale, backward
integration and R&D to produce thinner solar cells that require
less polysilicon."
The survey also noted that 28 percent of the
PV manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce waste, with 27 percent
increasing automation integration and 25 percent planning upgrades to
their management systems in efforts to be more efficient.
A major concern amongst suppliers for the next 12 months was price competition (60 percent) and raw material costs (25 percent).
