02/04/2012
As rush orders from Europe, North America, and China continue streaming in, the 1Q12 global solar market outlook has become more optimistic. EnergyTrend research indicates, as downstream orders flooded in, related vendors continued to receive orders and negotiate prices during the Chinese New Year vacation period.
As Germany’s installation volume for 4Q was unexpectedly high, inventory levels were adjusted significantly – some system makers’ stock levels had even fallen to recent lows. Meanwhile, affected by the uncertainty of Germany’s policies, demand momentum for 1Q12 may be similar to that of 4Q11.
According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, due to both weak demand and limited demand boost from the rush order transfers from China, most Taiwanese solar manufacturers released their latest sales figures of December 2011 only to conclude the year with a negative growth.
Due to continual orders from North American regions, solar cell makers’ capacity utilization rate has increased in January. Additionally, the end of holiday vacations brings more price inquiries from European clients, increasing trading activity on the market.
Benefiting from the rush orders from clients in Europe and the United States, Taiwanese solar cell makers’ utilization rates increased evidently, which will affect the future development of contract and spot prices.
According to EnergyTrend, TrendForce’s green energy research division, there is a division among current spot market price trends – solar cell and module prices have ceased falling and stabilized, while polysilicon and Si wafer prices are showing signs of an uptrend.
According to the current development, EnergyTrend, TrendForce's green energy division expects 2012 to be the year for the global solar industry to face an arduous challenge and weed out the weak. The policies will focus on the total installation volume control and decreasing subsidies.
According to EnergyTrend research, the current spot market price has ceased falling and stabilized – some products have even seen a price increase. In terms of January 2012 contract price, some upstream suppliers are planning for a slight increase.
As the US has launched an anti-dumping investigation of China’s solar products, the Chinese PV industry is taking steps towards self-preservation – Taiwanese vendors will reap the benefits of these measures, and will likely see increased sales.
According to EnergyTrend’s survey, high-efficiency products are still in great demand in the market, which brings hope to the underperforming solar market.
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