2020 Predictions: What Manufacturers Need to Know
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Lead times and pricing trends are expected to remain stable in the interconnect, passive and electromechanical (IP&E) component market, according to Avnet Electronics Marketing’s Market and Technology Trends report. However, Avnet product managers indicate that lead times for some parts, including aluminum capacitors and inductors, may be on the rise so buyers should closely monitor deliveries for these parts over the next few months. Also, pricing for military connectors are on an upward trend.
Despite lead time extensions for a few passive and interconnect components, pricing trends remain stable. Typically, pricing for commodity passives drops about three to five percent when there is plenty of supply coupled with low or stable demand. With tight supply for some parts, it’s expected that average selling prices (ASPs) will remain stable.
Passive Components
Lead times for passive components vary quite a bit because of the variety of component types. Avnet reports standard lead times of 12 to 18 weeks for aluminum capacitors, which is up slightly from last month’s delivery range of 12 to 14 weeks. Lead times from some manufacturers may extend to 28 weeks.
Similarly, lead times of metal film and ceramic axial capacitors range between 12 to 18 weeks. Deliveries have extended to 32 weeks from some manufacturers, according to Avnet.
Ceramic capacitor lead times generally range from stock to 12 weeks. Buyers should expect longer lead times in the range of 18 to 20 weeks for specialty devices. Tantalum chip capacitor lead times vary significantly from stock to 22 weeks, depending on specifications including capacitance value and tolerance.
Inductor lead times generally range between 10 to 16 weeks. However, Avnet reports the possibility of extended lead times out to 56 weeks for some parts from TDK/EPCOS. TDK/EPCOS inductor deliveries generally range from 14 to 16 weeks.
Chip resistor lead times remain stable in the seven to 12-week range, while deliveries for leaded resistors run about six to 14 weeks. Potentiometer lead times also are stable, ranging from six to 16 weeks. Avnet reports stable lead time and pricing trends for resistors.
Connectors
In general, lead times and ASPs remain stable for connectors. Backplane connector lead times range from stock to 10 weeks, although Avnet reports an upward trend in deliveries for CompactPCI and 2-mm Hard Metric connectors.
Avnet also reports stable lead times ranging from stock to eight weeks for sockets, card connectors, I/O connectors, PCB connectors, and micro/nano connectors. Deliveries of power connectors as well as board-to-board and wire-to-board connectors range from stock to seven weeks. Similarly, fiber-optic lead times are stable, holding at stock to seven weeks.
However, buyers of military connectors should keep a close eye on lead times. Although factory lead times remain stable in general between 12 to 14 weeks, Avnet product managers report increasing lead times for several mil-spec parts including Micro D-Sub Mil-C-83513, circular connectors Mil-C-3899, circular connectors Mil-C-83723, and circular connectors Mil-C-26482.
Electromechanical
Avnet also reports stable lead times and ASPs for most electromechanical devices. In general, relay deliveries range between 10 to 12 weeks and switch lead times range from stock to 12 weeks. Circuit breaker lead times have increased by two weeks compared to last month, ranging from stock to 14 weeks.
Avnet reports lead time instability for fans and blowers. However, deliveries for these cooling devices remain stable from 14 to 16 weeks. Avnet product managers report that fan and blower products are integrating intelligent equipment features including speed monitoring, closed loop speed control and operating monitoring. Pricing trends remain stable.
AC/DC and DC/DC power supply lead times typically range from six to 24 weeks. Pricing trends are stable for all types. Across the board, Avnet reports new products sporting increased densities and smaller packaging, and in some cases wider input voltage ranges and higher temperature ranges.
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