Polysilicon manufacturers in Japan, China and Korea are improving their production processes in an effort to lower costs, according to EnergyTrend, a division of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. In October, the Japanese firm Tokuyama began producing polysilicon at its Malaysia plant, which has a capacity of 13,800 tons. Initially, Tokuyama is expected to reach 70% capacity. The South Korean polysilicon manufacturer OCI will boost capacity to 10,000 tons. Hanwha Chemical, another South Korean firm, will add 3,000 to 5,000 tons of production capacity.
Notebook computer shipments will grow 0.6% in 2015 to 174.6 million units, while tablet computer shipments will decline 3.5% to 185.6 million units, according to TrendForce, a Taiwan-based market intelligence firm. Notebook manufacturers largely vied for market share this year by slashing prices, said Caroline Chen, a notebook analyst at TrendForce.