Sony's Digital Camara Business + Japanese Electronics in Tailspin

choi

(1) Daisuke Wakabayashi, Japan's Electronics Under Siege; Pressure for Sony Entertainment spinoff, shake-up at Sharp humble former technology powerhouses. Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 83400074218878.html

two consecutive paragraphs:

"Japan's firms largely missed the [smartphone] boom and are now paying the price as the do-everything devices encroach on traditional areas of strength.

"In digital cameras, one of the few areas where Japanese electronics manufacturers are still dominant, sales are plunging especially for the point-and-shoot models. In the first quarter of 2013, global digital camera shipments are down 43% in the numbers of units, according to data from the Japan-based Camera & Imaging Products Association.

My comment:
(a) The graphic that comes with the report says, among other things: "Sales of Sony compact digital cameras dropped 29% last year to 15 million units."
(b) Because Japanese makers of digital comeras usually contracts out the manufacturing of digital cameras to Taiwanese companies. the latter companies also suffer.
(c) There is no need to read the rest of the report.


(2) Eleven Companies Move Up in 1Q13 Top 20 Semi Supplier Ranking; Qualcomm, TSMC, and SK Hynix each register greater than 20% year-over-year growth. IC Insights, May 13, 2013.
http://www.icinsights.com/news/b ... i-Supplier-Ranking/

My comment: The report is about sales of world's top 25 semiconductor suppliers (including foundries and fabless) in 1Q13 (and compared with same a year ago).
(a) Japanese chip makers all fared badly, continuing the plunge: Toshiba (-10%), Renesas (-20%), Sony (-31%), Fujitsu (-26%).
(b) Sale of the fabless AMD was -31% year on year.