ICT Industry Trends United States - 2022

Market Monitor

  • Etats-Unis
  • Electronique

16 juin 2022

Lower, but still solid ICT sales and production growth

IT US ICT Credit Risk 2022

ICT production and sales in the US remain robust, despite a certain slowdown of growth expected in 2022 and 2023 compared to last year. Demand for home office products and connectivity-related accessories, cloud services, mobility solutions and network security offerings remain solid. However, ongoing high inflation could have a negative impact on households´ discretionary spending and, in turn, is likely to result in lower device purchases. For instance, we expect that after a whopping 11.5% increase in 2021, consumer electronics output will grow only 1.5% in 2022.

IT US ICT Output 2022

Due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage, output of computers, telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics has slowed down, while the production of electronic components (which includes chips) will grow 8.5% this year. Despite this increase, chip demand will still outpace supply into 2023. Providers have recently announced major investments in US chip making capacity, and US Congress passed the so-called “Chip Act”, which earmarks USD 52 billion of subsidies for domestic production. However, it is likely to take a few years to ramp up production.

While silicon remains the primary component of chips, neon gas is highly utilized in the etching of silicon. The war in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on chip manufacturers, particularly because two of Ukraine's biggest producers of neon gas have halted production. However, the major US chip manufacturers tend to maintain large reserves, limiting the near-term impact for the time being.

Average sales prices for semiconductors increased by 15% in 2021. Additionally, ICT businesses are facing higher energy and transport costs (in particular, costs for shipping containers have increased substantially). Given the delays caused by supply constraints, some businesses have to sustain high costs of airfreight in order to meet the demand of buyers in time. Profit margins of US ICT businesses increased in 2021, driven by strong demand, and we expect them to level off in the coming twelve months, as demand eases somewhat across all major product categories and competition in the market is high. On the positive side, most ICT businesses are able to pass on a large share of price increases to end-costumers.

In order to sustain growth, most ICT businesses are heavily reliant on bank financing to fund the necessary working capital. The willingness of banks to provide sufficient financing helps improve the liquidity profile of most ICT companies. Payment terms in the industry range between 30 days and 60 days on average, and the payment behavior has been good during the past two years. Due to the still satisfying demand situation and good access to external financing, we expect no increase in payment delays and insolvencies in the coming twelve months. Given steady growth and sufficient access to liquidity, our underlying strategy remains open for all subsectors.

 

Documents connexes

Avertissement

Chaque publication disponible sur ou à partir de nos sites Web, tels que, mais sans s'y limiter, les pages Web, les rapports, les articles, les publications, les astuces et le contenu utile, les dossiers de négociation, les infographies, les vidéos (chacun étant une " Publication ") est fournie à titre d'information uniquement et n'est pas destinée à constituer une recommandation ou un conseil quant à des transactions, des investissements ou des stratégies particulières, de quelque manière que ce soit, pour tout lecteur. Les lecteurs doivent prendre leurs propres décisions indépendantes, commerciales ou autres, concernant les informations fournies. Bien que nous ayons fait tout notre possible pour nous assurer que les informations contenues dans toute publication proviennent de sources fiables, Atradius n'est pas responsable de toute erreur ou omission, ni des résultats obtenus par l'utilisation de ces informations. Toutes les informations contenues dans une publication sont fournies " en l'état ", sans garantie d'exhaustivité, d'exactitude, d'actualité ou des résultats obtenus par leur utilisation, et sans garantie d'aucune sorte, expresse ou implicite. En aucun cas, Atradius, ses partenaires ou sociétés liées, ou leurs partenaires, agents ou employés, ne seront responsables envers vous ou toute autre personne pour toute décision prise ou action entreprise sur la base des informations contenues dans toute publication, ou pour toute perte d'opportunité, perte de profit, perte de production, perte d'activité ou pertes indirectes, dommages spéciaux ou similaires de quelque nature que ce soit, même s'ils ont été informés de la possibilité de telles pertes ou dommages.