Report suggests that a fire at a major component factory in Japan earlier this year is creating camera shortages
As the Black Friday camera sales get into gear, more and more companies are starting to offer up deals and promotions. For many, this is a great time to purchase a bargain and get that one piece of gear that has been on the list for some time. Unfortunately, three of the biggest camera brands may not have the stock they need to make the most of this annual sales bonanza.
A report from Australian trade journal Inside Imaging describes, that a fire at a chip manufacturer has created some serious supply issues. AKM Semiconductor is one the world’s largest manufacturers of integrated circuits and digital-to-analogue convertors. Its factory which suffered the outbreak, is one that supplies most of the major camera brands in Japan.
Inside Imaging discusses how it is not currently clear exactly what impact this will have on the camera industry. This is because it’s not certain what components camera manufacturers are sourcing from AKM. What seems to be likely however, is that this may have a strong impact on both the supply and price, of many kinds of electronics.
Reports suggest that the factory, which was destroyed by the fire, will not be back in production for up to a year.
Inside Imaging has been told that Canon, Nikon and Sony have already pulled support for Black Friday promotions this year. This is predominantly due to fears of stock shortages.
The camera industry has been hit extremely hard this year due to several factors. Covid-19 has been one of the main reason – and sales have plummeted far beyond what many estimated. This fire at AKM could be catastrophic for some companies, such as Nikon, that have already been struggling – with the lack of supply potentially leading to an increase in price.
At present, we are seeing Black Friday deals from all three companies – but it is certainly true that there are a lot more stock shortages on some popular cameras than we are used to at this time of year.