Global shipments of lithium-ion battery cells are estimated to reach 4.59 billion units,and the volume is expected to continue to rise 9%in 2013 with annual production value increasing 6%to US$12 billion,according to the Industrial Economics&Knowledge Center IEK-ITIS(Industry&Technology Intelligence Services)in Taiwan.
H.L.Lee,material analyst at IEK,pointed out that the cold global economy in the second and third quarters led to stagnated 3C(computer,communication,and consumer electronics)product sales,forcing most notebook PC assemblers to reduce shipment goals.So,IEK-ITIS has reduced its li-ion cell shipment forecast in 2012 from an annual growth of 12%to 9%.
However,Lee added,strong demand from smartphones and tablet PCs would continue to drive li-ion battery industry growth in 2013.In the third quarter of 2012,however,the weak demand from the 3C industry drove the prices of 18650 cylindrical li-ion cells to US$0.12-US$0.2/Wh(watt hour),while the prices for soft-pack cells(adopted mainly in ultrabooks or tablet PCs)remained at about US$0.5/Wh.
In conjunction with Simplo Technology Co.,Ltd.and Dynapack International Technology Corp.won Apple`s big-ticket battery orders,Taiwan`s share in the global tablet battery-pack market rose to 47%(notebook PC and tablet).
In the fourth quarter of 2012,IEK-ITIS forecasts,Taiwan`s li-ion cell shipments are expected to grow about 10%,thanks to the announcement of new iPad mini and iPad.
Simplo,the leading li-ion battery-pack supplier in Taiwan,registered revenue of NT$5.67 billion(US$189.1 million)in October,a record monthly high but only a 0.2%month-on-month(MoM)increase.Dynapack had revenue of NT$2.34 billion(US$77.8 million)in October,up 7.3%MoM.Simploy estimated that its profit margin would fall to about 7.8%in the fourth quarter,from 9.24%in the third quarter.
