The Japanese TDK page reports that TDK has closed two of it's factories in the United States. One situated in California and one in Georgia. The factory in Georgia produced CD-R's, but because of the bad market ,(the plant produced more that it could sell) the factories were not profitable enough to keep them open.
Text translated by a computer from Japanese
Market environment was bad at the Georgian factory concerning the CD-R which we have produced, balance of demand and supply deteriorated and became generally known over-supply state. |
Monovalent rate of decrease of last year approximately reaches to as many as 60%, supply capacity of the world, is presumed, approximately 2 times that demand, it is 60 hundred million or more, both sale and the profit painful circumstance is continued.
Concerning the videocassette tape, those where 96 year total demand is 13 hundred million volumes, last year decrease to 11 hundred million volumes, there is a circumstance whose still also unit cost as usual, is harsh.
In this kind of market environment, production foothold reorganization of the record media product is done, predominance of production cost it is something where the rearrangement ¥ integration where the efficiency which considers regional quality is good becomes necessary and it does.
Also both products, by the fact that until now positively external product purchase is utilized above, and it keeps maintaining expanding sale quantity it is the plan that.
We've heard rumors that also other companies will close factories in the future.
Source: TDK Japan
