Prices for sapphire ingots in the third quarter of 2013 are expected to increase by 15-20% on quarter mainly due to growing demand from LED makers and China-based smartphone vendors, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.
Prices for 2-inch sapphire ingots rose from US$3/mm in May 2013 to US$3.30/mm in June and have further risen to US$3.80/mm currently, the sources indicated. Among sapphire ingot suppliers, Taiwan-based USI Optronics has upward adjusted prices by 20%, Russia-based Monocrystal by 10% and US-based Rubicon by 15%, the sources noted.
In addition to continued growth in demand from LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers, some China-based smartphone vendors will adopt camera lens protection covers made from sapphire in the second half of 2013, causing China-based sapphire wafer suppliers to procure sapphire ingots in large volumes, the sources said.
Sapphire wafer makers are expected to hike prices to reflect increases in the cost of sapphire ingots, but hikes in the price of sapphire wafers will be relatively small, the sources indicated.
