2008年3月28日 电池短缺影响超低价笔记本电脑增长

业内消息人士和分析人士3月26日指出，笔记本电脑电池的短缺，将使新型超低价成本笔记本电脑与超便携个人电脑市场增速减缓。

A shortage of notebook computer batteries is slowing growth in the emerging market segment for ultra low-cost notebook computers and ultra-mobile personal computers, industry sources and analysts said on the 26 March.

业界智库机构“资讯市场情报中心”(Market Intelligence Centre)驻台北分析师魏传虔(Chris Wei)指出，在韩国电池生产商LG化学(LG Chemical)的一家工厂失火后，预计电池供应将无法满足电池组生产商、笔记本装配商和销售商的需求，这种情况至少会持续到今年6月份，也许还会延续至今年第三季度。

Following a fire at a plant of LG Chemical, the South Korean battery cell maker, supplies are expected to fall short of demand from battery pack makers, notebook assemblers and notebook vendors at least until June and probably well into the third quarter of this year, said Chris Wei, an analyst at the Market Intelligence Center, an industry think- tank in Taipei.

LG化学受影响的生产线生产的是笔记本电池。

The production lines affected at LG Chemical were involved in making battery cells used in laptops.

魏传虔指出：“为了应对短缺，电脑公司将把能够得到的电池分配给价格较高的产品，以求将对收入和利润率的影响降到最低。”

“To cope with the shortage, computer companies are going to assign the capacity they can get to higher-priced products in order to minimise the impact on their revenue and margins,” said Mr Wei.

台湾电脑公司华硕(Asustek)已经感到了压力。自去年推出首款通过商业渠道在全球发售的超低价电脑EeePC后，华硕自有品牌的销售得到了促进。但是据知情人士透露，华硕如今预计将无法实现第一季度EeePC发货量达到100万台的目标，差距将超过30万台。

Asustek, the Taiwanese computer company, is already feeling the pinch. The company received a boost to its own-brand sales following the launch last year of the EeePC, the first ultra low-cost notebook sold through commercial channels worldwide. But it now expects to miss its shipment target of 1m EeePCs for the first quarter by more than 300,000 units, a source close to the company said.

JP摩根(JP Morgan)驻香港分析师艾尔文?科沃克(Alvin Kwock)表示，其它全球个人电脑销售商——例如发货量分别名列全球第一和第三的电脑销售上惠普(HP)及宏碁(Acer)——推出的低价与超便携产品可能也会受到影响。

Low-cost and ultra-mobile products to be launched by other PC vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest vendor by shipments, and Acer, which ranks number three, could also be hit, said Alvin Kwock, an analyst at JP Morgan in Hong Kong.

科沃克表示：“由于惠普面向消费者市场的产品占LG化学发货量的一半以上，惠普消费者受到的影响可能最大。”

“Since HP products for the consumer market account for more than 50 per cent of LG Chem’s shipments, HP consumer is likely to be hardest-hit,” Mr Kwock said.

记者在3月26日未能立即联系到惠普发言人置评。

An HP spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on the 26 March.

惠普曾表示，该公司计划在今年5月或6月推出自己的超低价产品。宏碁也打算将一款类似产品推向市场。

It has said it plans to launch its own ultra low-cost model in May or June. Acer intends to bring a similar product to market.

台湾某笔记本合同制造商的一位高管指出，虽然这些公司不大可能推迟正式发布日期，但它们可以选择在电池短缺持续期间放慢产品发货速度。此前，全球第二大个人电脑公司戴尔(Dell)在本周二表示，短缺将影响其替换电池组的价格。

While the companies are unlikely to delay the official launch dates, they might choose to ship the products slowly while the battery shortage lasts, an executive at a Taiwanese notebook contract manufacturer said. The comments come after Dell, the world’s second-largest PC company, said on Tuesday that the shortage was affecting prices of its replacement battery packs.

魏传虔指出：“根据去年松下(Panasonic)一家工厂发生类似火灾的经验判断，LG化学完全恢复产能可能需要五到六个月的时间。”

“Judging from the experience following a similar fire at a Panasonic plant last year, it might take five to six months after full capacity at LG Chem is restored,” said Mr Wei.

LG化学对火灾影响进行了轻描淡写，表示该公司的其它工厂正在全负荷运转，以满足需求。

LG Chem downplayed the impact of the fire, saying it was running other factories at full capacity to meet demand.