Handset production down 20% YoY, companies sitting on 10 weeks of inventory

Smartphone manufacturers have reduced their production by up to 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY), The Economic Times (ET) has reported. Experts aware of the trends in the industry said that the decline in production is a result of the slowdown in sales in the last six months.

A decline of 30 per cent was registered between October and December 2022. For the period between January and March 2023, the sales went down by 18 per cent compared to the same period last year, the report cited data from Counterpoint.
 

The report quotes the managing director of Jaina Group, Pradeep Jain, who said it isn't just the Indian mobile phone industry which has been affected, but the global industry has seen demand being affected. Jaina Group makes mobile phones under the Karbonn brand.

Talking about the trend in the industry, he said that the dip in demand is expected to continue for some time.

Quoting the research director at Counterpoint, Tarun Pathak, the report added that most companies have nearly ten weeks of unsold inventory. He expected lower production to continue till the April-June quarter.

The managing director of Dixon Technologies had a similar story to tell, and he said the mobile phone demand is "not buoyant". However, he added, the situation will improve because some companies are exporting smartphones in large numbers.