Main / Articles: Japanese Digital Camera Suppliers Look to Bolster Production

Plan 18% Increase in Global Shipments in 2006-07

Most of the Japanese suppliers of digital cameras plan to boost their combined shipments worldwide by 18% year-on-year to 76.5 million cameras in the year to next March, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing unidentified sources in the industry.

The newspaper, in a report in its on-line edition, said their combined shipments of 64.94 million cameras in the year to last March were 13% greater than the year before.

Domestic demand for digital cameras has been stalling recently because of heavy market saturation. But replacement demand is being ignited by the introduction of new and improved functions, such as anti-blurring technology.

Many of the companies also expect sales to expand in China and other emerging markets in the coming years.

Canon Inc. plans to boost global shipments by 14% to 19.2 million cameras in this fiscal year, which is expected to give the firm the leading share of the world market. Of the firm's planned sales, more than 10%, or 2.2 million cameras, are expected to be DSLR models.

Sony Corp, is also set to enter the DSLR market this summer with their Alpha system.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, among the first in the industry to introduce an anti-blurring function in a digital camera, has doubled its global shipments every year since 2004, when it sold a total of 1.86 million cameras.

Casio Computer Co Ltd., a pioneer in offering digital cameras that are thinner and have longer battery lives, targets a 30% increase in shipments worldwide in this fiscal year, the Nikkei said.

Article source: www.popphoto.com

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