Resistor industry composition and layout analysis

In the context of the appreciation of the renminbi and the global economic crisis, resistor manufacturers have to face the dual pressures of rising production costs and falling product prices, and fierce competition in recent years has also reduced the profitability of manufacturers. When the world economic environment is turbulent, market demand is expected to decline, and product sales will also be affected more profoundly. Despite the worrisome prospects, industry players are still optimistic about the development of the industry because of the increasing demand for resistors from global consumer electronics, communications, automotive, computer and military products, giving them optimistic capital. At present, China is in a leading position in the world's resistor industry. According to data from the China Electronic Component Industry Association, the total output of resistors in China was 708 billion in 2008, a huge increase from 401 billion in 2005. 30% of total global supply. Since 2005, China's production of resistors has grown at a rapid rate of 20% per year. The association expects that total production in 2009 will reach 850 billion.

China's resistor industry has made considerable progress during the National "Tenth Five-Year Plan" (2001-2005). After the "WTO entry" in 2001, it has strived to consolidate its leadership in the global resistor market by opening up the international market and enhancing product development. status.

The demand for chip resistors is bullish, and 0603 is the main resistance. At present, China's chip resistors account for 85% of the total output of resistors. In order to get a slice of the rising market demand, more and more manufacturers have expanded the production scale of chip resistors and shifted their production focus to chip products. It is foreseeable that chip resistors will continue to lead the production of local resistors in China in the next few years. In the global demand for chip resistors driven by industries such as mobile communications, computers and peripherals, consumer digital and automotive electronics, Chinese local suppliers are very optimistic about such resistors, especially the demand for small-sized resistors in portable electronic devices. The prospect of miniaturized resistors can be expected.

The size of China-made chip resistors varies. The 0603 chip resistors used in consumer electronics, IT, and communications products are the mainstay of current local resistors in China. The trend toward miniaturization will stimulate the production of smaller chip resistors such as 0402. . In view of this market demand, manufacturers expect that the output of 0603 and 0805, 1206 and other large-size resistors will decline in the coming months.

The 0402 chip resistors are used more and more frequently in electronic products such as mobile phones, MP3 players, MP4 players, digital cameras, portable digital video cameras, portable GPS devices, and notebook computers. With the increasing miniaturization of digital devices such as mobile phones, manufacturers believe that eight of the chip resistors used in these electronic products are Type 0402.

Local manufacturers in China also plan to develop 0201 resistors. R&D power will not only increase from the demand for next-generation mobile phones, MP4 players, and RF equipment, but also because they can bring more profits. A few suppliers will test production of 0201 chip resistors in 2009.

In addition to chip resistors, Chinese local manufacturers also produce plug-in resistors, which are widely used in consumer electronics, industrial equipment and children's toys. Plug-in resistors will continue to be used in high-power applications because chip resistors cannot yet support applications with power above 3 watts. Therefore, the plug-in resistor market will remain stable despite the fierce competition in chip resistors. According to Philips’ prediction, the global electronics market will have a growth of 38.4%, significantly increasing the demand for plug-in components. In addition, as demand from the aerospace, aerospace, and military industries increases, China's production of metal film resistors will also increase.

Product technology is mature, mainly to enhance performance due to industry maturity, no major breakthrough in resistor technology, but manufacturers still make efforts for product stability and overall performance improvement. Product R&D is mainly focused on high precision, high frequency, and low temperature coefficient. Lead-free and miniaturization are also the focus of R&D for manufacturers.

For chip resistors, high-frequency, high-power products will lead the trend of product development in the coming months, and manufacturers will also introduce sensitive resistors such as thermistors, varistors, and gas-sensing resistors. Most suppliers are still chip resistors. Thin film technology is used in production.

In the area of ​​plug-in resistors, carbon film resistors and metal film resistors are the most widely used in local axial products in China. As thin-film resistor technology becomes more and more mature, the competition between domestic and foreign manufacturers for product quality and cost control has become increasingly fierce. For example, as copper prices have risen, many manufacturers have begun to use iron pins to maintain profitability.

Another part of the supplier is working hard to develop precision wire wound resistors and cement resistors. The demand and profitability of these two types of products are considerable. Metal film resistors are moving in the direction of low temperature coefficients and high precision, and many manufacturers have begun to adopt advanced production equipment from Japan and Europe. Therefore, suppliers have used imported high-quality raw materials such as nickel-chromium, tantalum nitride, and tin oxide to produce precision metal film resistors with low temperature coefficients.

Currently, domestic metal film resistors typically have an initial accuracy of 0.1% to 1%, a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) ranging from 10ppm/°C to 100ppm/°C, and an impedance of 10Ω to 301kΩ. To supply the high-end market, some manufacturers have developed low-impedance, high-power products that have a resistance of less than 1 ohm, a power of up to 3 watts, a TCR value of less than 10ppm/°C, and an accuracy of 0.1%. However, the development of such products requires a long test cycle, and it is difficult to maintain a low defect rate. Therefore, the price of precision metal film resistors remains high.

Many Chinese local manufacturers focus on the EE series of metal film resistors, with ultra-high precision of 0.01% to 1%, TCR in the lower range of 5ppm/°C to 50ppm/°C, and high stability with resistance of 10 ohms. 10 MΩ, operating temperature between -65 ~ 175 °C, excellent heat dissipation, low noise, maximum power of 50 watts.

Manufacturers of wire-wound resistors are also producing high-precision, low-temperature-coefficient products. The accuracy of common wire wound resistors is less than 5% and the TCR is 20ppm/°C, 50ppm/°C, and 100ppm/°C, respectively. Manufacturers aim to enter products with a TCR value of 20ppm/°C into the high-end market.

As for the cement resistance, miniaturization, high temperature stability, good heat dissipation, low noise, and small resistance change over the years are its development trends. Manufacturers are also developing resistance to moisture and shock resistance of cement.

China's resistance industry constitutes China's local hundreds of resistor manufacturers distributed in 18 provinces and cities in China. Data from the Electronic Components Industry Association shows that there are more than 60 manufacturers of carbon film resistors and more than 40 manufacturers of metal film resistors. There are 30 manufacturers of metal oxide film resistors, and more than 30 manufacturers supply chip resistors, most of them Taiwan-funded enterprises.

The supplier group consists of local Chinese manufacturers as well as Taiwan-funded and Japanese-funded companies. The latter two are aimed at the high-end resistance market, and most of the Chinese local suppliers' products supply the low-end market.

Most of the manufacturers are concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, especially Shanghai, Jiangsu Suzhou, Guangdong Dongguan, Shenzhen, Tianjin and other provinces and cities. Among them, Guangdong and Jiangsu each own nearly 30% of the manufacturers, and Shanghai and Tianjin have 6 respectively. Others The manufacturer is located in Zhejiang.

In fact, China still attracts PC, communication and digital electronic equipment manufacturers all over the world to invest in establishing production lines in China. All chip resistor leading companies in Taiwan have established back-end and packaging bases in China, and upgraded to fully-processed factories. . China is also importing a large number of resistors while exporting, and the demand for chip resistors is increasing day by day, especially high-end resistors.