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TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Despite recent increases in their component costs, Taiwanese keyboard makers expect product prices to remain stable this year.
Acer Peripherals Inc. (API), Behavior Tech Computer Corp. (BTC), Chicony Electronics Co. Ltd., Silitek Corp., and other local suppliers were recently socked with price hikes from their component suppliers, including those in the plastics material and printed-circuit boards areas, sources said.
However, local vendors do not have the luxury of passing on the higher material costs to their price-sensitive customers. Instead, they will absorb these costs, putting more pressure on their already slim margins, vendors and analysts said.
Nonetheless, the higher material costs, coupled with an ongoing shake-out in the local keyboard industry, could be a major concern for OEMs: Taiwanese companies make 52% of the world's products, according to the government-sponsored Market Intelligence Center (MIC), in Taipei.
Three years ago, there were more than 100 keyboard manufacturers in Taiwan....