According to Taiwan media reports, the US department of foreign investment issued the latest report pointed out that MCU spot price in December appeared a small rebound. With the trough reached in November, inventory dropped to the normal level, mega easy innovation 32 bit MCU pricing rebound. While demand is likely to remain weak in the recent past, the reopening of the mainland market and normal inventories could set the stage for a recovery in the second half of next year.
Despite weaker demand in Europe and the US, the spot price of STMicro's 32-bit MCU is still double the pre-pandemic level, but it is understood that overseas manufacturers will lower contract pricing next year in order to regain market share in the Chinese mainland market. For mainland China MCU suppliers, spot prices are currently well below contract prices, so contract prices are likely to continue to decline while spot prices may be flat or slightly up.
Overall, MCU inventory is now back to normal levels, and demand will pick up at least until the second quarter of next year. American foreign investors said inventories in November were 2 to 4 months, now down about 1 month, end customer inventories also fell to 2 to 4 weeks. While manufacturers still have a high number of days on hand, 17 days above the historical median, much of the inventory is in semi-finished goods rather than finished goods.
Currently, overall MCU inventory levels are healthy, however, consumer demand remains weak, and the reopening of the Chinese mainland market is likely to cause the number of cases to rise again and peak around the Lunar New Year, which could dampen consumption. In addition, since the first quarter is a normal slow season, consumer demand may not pick up until the second quarter of next year, or until the second half of the year.
