Toshiba and NEC Suffer Power and Scanner Shortages

The shortage of charge-coupled devices, a crucial component in scanners, is expected to lower many scanner manufacturers' previous shipment targets for 1,200dpi models by 30 to 40 percent in the upcoming boom season. The originally tight CCD supplies, compounded by the fact that Toshiba Corp. (Houston, TX) suffered from power shortages earlier in August, may fail to meet demand from the local scanner sector. The CCD suppliers in the global market have mostly come from Japan, including Sony Corp., NEC Corp. and Toshiba. NEC and Toshiba have been the supply sources for Taiwan's demand. Given that Toshiba started mass production in 1999 using a new product called the TCD290ID, Toshiba's supplies have become the only choice left for the 1,200dpi and higher scanner manufacturers in Taiwan.Toshiba's early August power shortage has prompted local manufacturers to lower their 1,200dpi scanner shipments by 30 to 40 percent. The 600dpi models suffered less impact since their main supply has mostly come from NEC.