Impact of Japan earthquake on electronics at Friday webinar event

EL SEGUNDO, USA: More than two weeks after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeast region of Japan, the disaster’s impact on the global electronics supply chain is still being assessed. To help the global technology supply chain understand the repercussions of the disaster, leading experts from IHS iSuppli on Friday, April 1, will host a webinar event, entitled: The Japan Earthquake and the Impact on the Electronics Supply Chain.

“From semiconductors to displays, to automotive and consumer electronics, the effects of the Japan earthquake continue to reverberate throughout the world,” said Dale Ford, senior VP, market intelligence, at IHS.

“Beyond the damage to Japan’s own industrial base, the earthquake has impacted the production of basic electronic raw materials, such as silicon wafers used to make semiconductors, creating a ripple effect throughout the globe. For any participant in the worldwide electronics supply chain, the IHS iSuppli Japan webinar will provide essential information required to manage through the fallout of the Japan crisis across the supply chain during the next three, six and 12 months.”

At the webinar, Ford will discuss issues such as supply chain risk management, the impact of the earthquake on individual original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)—including Apple and its iPad—and the specific issues facing companies in the country as well as multinational operators dependent upon suppliers from Japan.

Other key analysts discussing supply chain issues during the webinar will include:

* Akira Minamikawa, vice president of Japanese research, who will examine the current challenges facing companies inside of Japan as they struggle to get back up and running, including their struggles to overcome power and water issues.
* Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst for semiconductor manufacturing at IHS, who will focus on semiconductor manufacturing. Jelinek will discuss the impact of the quake on integrated device manufacturers (IDM), foundries and raw-wafer suppliers. He will focus specifically on 300mm wafers, whose supplies have been massively impacted by the disaster.
* Mike Howard, principal analyst for DRAM at IHS, who will look at the overall memory market and examine how memory suppliers and pricing will be shaped by the Japan crisis and recovery.