The United States will impose 30% tariff on solar cell and module imports, according to the announcement made by U.S government on January 22. EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce, makes the following notes regarding the impacts of this new decision on the industry.
The demand for xEV battery sees significant growth in 2017 due to the development of new energy vehicles, resulting in a 114% price surge for cobalt. In order to ease the cost pressure, battery makers are looking for ways to decrease the amount of cobalt used in xEV battery manufacturing. EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce, forecasts that xEV battery with lower ratio of cobalt will be the mainstream product in 2018, easing the tight supply of cobalt.
Major Chinese LED chip suppliers including San’an Optoelectronics and HC SemiTek have lowered their product prices recently, indicating the end of LED chip price hike that had lasted for one and a half year. According to LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, the recent price drop signals the end of LED chip undersupply, and the next year will witness a balance in LED chip supply and demand.
LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, reports that the global average sales prices (ASP) of LED light bulbs was generally stable in November. The global ASP of 40-watt equivalent products was US$6.2, a slight increase of 0.5%. The global ASP of 60-watt equivalent products also increased slightly by 0.2% to US$7.4. Japan saw noticeable price slide while Europe experienced price growth.
The demand for xEV battery in China sees significant growth in 2017 due to carmakers’ acceleration into electric vehicles production. The global xEV battery demand expects a steady growth from 2 billion units in 2017 to 2.5 billion units in 2018, a Y0Y increase of 24%, says EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce.