Taiwan solar cell makers' utilizations remained high between the beginning of June and mid-June, but are expected to substantially drop by the end of the month, which will affect cell price quotes, according to EnergyTrend.
Relevant makers indicated that judging from current conditions, cell makers will have enough capacity to handle extra OEM orders for the end of June and are expected to provide roughly 5MW of capacity. In addition, OEM price quotes dropped 15-20% compared to the beginning of second-quarter 2014. OEM prices are currently around US$0.15/watt, the firm said.
Aside from the decreased OEM quotations, cell price quotes have also declined. China makers' price quotes have been dropping since May, while Taiwan makers' started to decline in June. Meanwhile, certain makers' current price quotes have fallen below US$0.4/watt.
On the other hand, PV makers in China and Taiwan continue to follow an anti-dumping preliminary verdict that is expected to be made at the end of July from the US Department of Commerce. Therefore, once makers have completed shipments in mid-June, US demand is expected to turn weak before the anti-dumping initial verdict annoucement in July. If Japan and Europe demand cannot fulfill the decreased US demand, Taiwan cell makers' utilization rates will substantially decline in the short run. However, if the anti-dumping initial verdict in the end of July happens to benefit Taiwan, Taiwan makers' utilization rates will rebound substantially in August, the firm said.
