2020 is really not very friendly to component manufacturers. No matter the market is good or bad, when it comes to component manufacturers, they are not thankful and may lose money. It is really making the least money and resisting the greatest pressure.

Loss in price reduction, and loss in price increase

The market often rises and falls, and there are always times to make money and lose money. However, this year this is not useful for component vendors. Whether it is a price increase or a fall in the component, it is not the component vendor that makes money, and it is also facing risks such as hoarding and difficult delivery. , Accidentally made a loss.

The sudden outbreak of the epidemic at the beginning of the year blocked overseas exports, and a large number of photovoltaic module cargoes were under pressure. The prices of photovoltaic modules experienced a sharp drop at the beginning of the year. Since the goods cannot be exported, they can only go to the domestic market, and they have no choice but to lower the price and quickly ship to the domestic market. For the first time this year, component manufacturers “cut meat”.

In the second and third quarters, the domestic and international markets recovered one after another, and the off-season was not weak. However, there has been a silicon material accident. Since July, the price of photovoltaic modules has risen continuously, from 1.4 yuan/watt at the beginning of the year to 1.6 yuan/watt. So does the component manufacturer make money? No, from the silicon material, silicon wafers, solar cells to the components link, the upstream earns a lot of money, and the component vendors of the closer terminal quickly didn’t even drink the soup. The component suppliers who have been stuck have no choice but to make a sound to strengthen the layout of the vertically integrated industrial chain and increase the bargaining power.

In the fourth quarter, the raw materials that were out of stock turned into glass, and the global photovoltaic market has recovered one after another. In the fourth quarter, the domestic and foreign market demand for photovoltaic modules is expected to be 36GW. The module manufacturers who are ready to do a big job have found that the shortage of glass has stuck their throats. . Although since July, photovoltaic glass has risen from 24 yuan/square meter to 45 yuan/square meter, it is still hard to find. Humble photovoltaic module manufacturers, even issuing hundreds of millions of cash to grab glass goods, still have a huge supply and delivery gap.

Although at the beginning of the year, the central enterprises’ collective bidding price of modules was 1.2-1.3 yuan/watt, the final re-negotiation was raised to around 1.6 yuan/watt. Faced with the shortage of raw materials, the module vendors took the risk to complete the delivery and lost money.

The shortage of raw materials for a whole year has led to the experience of being choked, so that component manufacturers understand a truth, to improve the level of industrial vertical integration, component manufacturers at the end of the industry chain, exhausted their efforts to expand upstream and improve their industrial competitiveness .

If you have suffered a loss, you will not eat it again. In the expansion of photovoltaic enterprises, the trend of integration becomes more and more obvious. The photovoltaic industry chain involves silicon materials, silicon wafers, cells, modules and many other links, which does not include related auxiliary materials. Leading companies that originally had advantages in one link are accelerating their penetration into other links. The combination of component links with links with higher gross profit can guarantee shipments and have greater profit margins.