The price of notebooks is 'flickering' due to lack of batteries

The personal computer industry (PC) is facing a serious shortage of laptop batteries, after the factory of a large battery manufacturer was visited by "God of Fire".

On March 3, the Ochang factory of LG Chem, South Korea's second-largest battery maker, was burned.

It is expected that at least 2-3 months the factory can start production again.

Domino effect

Dell, the world's second-largest computer maker, said it is working with other battery suppliers to limit product price increases.

However, the price of the removable battery (purchased as an optional accessory for the device) will have to increase slightly.

The incident in Ochang has caused battery shortages on a global scale. According to Taiwan-based computer company Asustek, the company's factory output in the second quarter may drop by 40% due to the impact of the incident.

Dell representatives declined to comment on the impact of the fire on Dell's business. However, since Dell products are primarily desktop and laptop computers that are fully assembled, the impact level may not be large.

" All impacts will be reflected on product costs ," Dell said. " The battery market is lacking in heavy goods, partly because Sony recalled 10 million battery packs in 2007, partly because of fires at LG Chem's factory. Therefore, the battery price will be pushed up as a consequence. weak ".

However, Dell is committed to working with other battery manufacturers to minimize the negative impact on users.

Price is hard to increase

The price of notebooks is 'flickering' due to lack of batteries Picture 1 Source: Engadget Along with Samsung SDI of Korea and Sony of Japan, LG Chem is now a giant in the battery manufacturing industry.

The latest incident forced computer makers to switch to Sony and Panasonic's battery orders, which are more expensive than LG's or Samsung's.

HP representative, the No. 1 computer maker in the market today, said "contacting regularly" with LG Chem to grasp the situation. However, the exact level of influence has not yet been verified.

According to Macquire Securities analyst Daniel Chang, in fact, the supply of notebooks began to fall short of the first quarter.

Notebook currently accounts for about 30% of Dell's quarterly sales, on par with desktop computers.

Even so, Mr. Chang is optimistic and reassures users. " Even if the battery price increases, it's hard for the laptop to get too much price. The reason is because many other components like monitors, DRAM chips are constantly decreasing ."