With demand in almost all of the major end-uses linked to either consumer electronics or to military and space uses, gallium is particularly vulnerable to downturns in both government and consumer spending. The key trends, issues and developments in the market are now analysed in this major new report from Roskill. Planned capacity increases will partly cover the potential short supply of 45-125t a year. Most of the additional demand in the next few years will be due to high consumption of compound semiconductors in mobile cellular phones. Sales of mobile phones worldwide are forecast to rise from 175 million handsets a year in 1999 to 375 million a year by the end of 2003.
Price stability is important to avoid the threat of substitution by other materials.
The price of 6N gallium is unlikely to rise sharply in the next few years because Dowa, the world's largest gallium producer, has shown its commitment to stable prices. This report is the result of an extensive programme of research by Roskill analysts. They have interviewed major industry players and conducted a close appraisal of information from a wide variety of sources, including governments, trade associations, company reports, leading producers, official organisations, trade journals and technical literature. Information gathering is only the first step in preparing a report. Also provides the forecast for supply and demand balance.