Taiwan's PV Cell Shipment Jumps 41% in 1H12, Says MIC

Taiwanese PV cell shipment volume increased 41% year-on-year to 3.239 MW in the first half of 2012, according to MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), a Taiwan-based ICT industry research institute. In the second quarter of 2012, though the overall shipment value reported a sequentially downward trend, the on-year decline shrunk significantly to merely ~1.9%, compared to a 55.3% on-year decline in the first quarter of 2012, MIC added.

The demand of PV cells in the first half of 2012 was mainly driven by US' anti-dumping and anti-subsidy policy and the unleashed demand for PV installations in the European market prior to subsidy cuts, explained MIC's senior analyst Sean Kao. As a result, the utilization rate reached nearly 80%, which played a key role to prevent the price reduction to decline further in the first half of 2012.?

In addition, the ASP (average selling price) of Taiwanese PV cells fell to around US$0.49/W to US$0.51/W in the first half of 2012, representing a mild downward trend, noted MIC.

According to MIC, it is anticipated that the global solar PV industry's shipment volume will be driven by the increasing importance of five emerging markets including China, the United States, Japan, India, and Australia and the growing market opportunities in other emerging markets including East Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. MIC projected that the Taiwanese PC cell industry will have an over 80% utilization rate, with its shipment growth momentum continuing well into the third quarter of 2012 and further in the fourth quarter of 2012, traditionally the off-season.??

Wither the overall industry's shipment value is expected to help the PV companies begin making profits in the second half, it will have to depend on product cost variations with respect to order placement, production scale, R&D investment, and purchase strategy, said Sean. Under a circumstance where Chinese PV vendors' utilization rate is increasing, should a vendor able to maintain the shipment price of PV cells, the shipment value will be continuously boosted by the increasing shipment volume, thereby maintaining the industry's uptrend in growth. Regarding the product specs, it is anticipated that high cost-performance ratio will put multi-crystalline silicon modules at an advantage, MIC noted, adding that in 2012, multi-crystalline silicon modules will dominate the global PV market.

More information can be found in the following MIC report: Outlook for the Solar Photovoltaic Industry in 2H 2012 and Beyond