Nippon Chemicon caught in US for fixing cap price

[bitwelder]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/20/capacitormakers_zapped_with_pricefixing_charge/

[Zero999]

First the dodgy electrolyte scandal, now this!

Having said that, I'm surprised there's still any profit in the discrete component business, with all the cheap Chinese suppliers around.

[ebclr]

While digikey still on business, shows that still have a lot of fools, who want to pay a high premium because "China is fake", 

[b_force]

Does this really surprise people?

And yes, you can still produce things in the west as long as you keep labor costs as low as possible. So products that's coming right of machines and so on.

[coppice]

Does this really surprise people?

And yes, you can still produce things in the west as long as you keep labor costs as low as possible. So products that's coming right of machines and so on.

The production of discrete passives creates very little employment. The choice of location for a factory has more to do with land cost, infrastructure and the available financing deals. A big component of infrastructure is who will pick up the bill for the pollution created by the plant. Sweet financing deals can include grants and tax breaks, which can substantially affect the viability of the venture.

[tooki]

While digikey still on business, shows that still have a lot of fools, who want to pay a high premium because "China is fake", 

Nobody said Nippon Chemicon was making fake caps. Price fixing is something totally different.

As for “fools” buying components from legitimate distributors:
Go order a bunch of 2N3055 on eBay from China and see how many real ones you get. Digikey and all the other legitimate distributors exist because, in no particular order, a) people need a selection that’s bigger than what eBay provides, b) want quick shipping, and c) need to ensure component quality.

Digikey began as a company selling to hobbyists, but now 98% of their business is commercial — companies making products to sell can’t afford to risk getting bad components on eBay, nor can they afford to wait a month for it to arrive.

What really sucks is when fake parts make it into the supply stream of supposedly legitimate distributors, which is why Digikey and all the other big guys strictly buy from the manufacturers directly. (And why the manufacturers de-authorize any distributors who source their parts from anywhere other than directly.)

[ebclr]

You only forgot that 90% of the electronics products are made in China......, and eBay and aliexpress market isn't China pro market, who is 1000 times bigger than Digikey, mouser, and arrow together.

[wraper]

You only forgot that 90% of the electronics products are made in China......, and eBay and aliexpress market isn't China pro market, who is 1000 times bigger than Digikey, mouser, and arrow together.

You post stupid things unrelated to the topic. And yes, there are a lot of fakes in China. Cheap genuine Chinese capacitors have worse quality control and lower quality overall than first tier Japanese capacitors in any case.
EDIT: BTW I've personally repaired Chinese brand devices which contained counterfeit components. So it's not like they don't make their way into supply chain of not that small companies which make cheap stuff. And if we remember recent scandals, fake FTDI ICs made their way into a lot of cheap and expensive equipment which failed after driver update. Among cheap Arduinos and RS232 adapters there were basically no genuine FTDI ICs present.

[Tomorokoshi]

I don't see what the problem is. Capitalism, and all that. In what would otherwise be a low-margin business they keep enough revenue coming in to maintain high-quality products.

Yes, there absolutely is a reason why parts are sourced from Digi-Key and others in the proper distribution chain. I don't care what country it comes from, only that it's made properly. Of all things the latest set of Vishay electrolytic capacitors I ordered were made in Austria.

I would much rather the US Department of Justice spend their time pursuing the counterfeit parts that flow out of China and contaminate everything they are installed in.

[Zero999]

Does this really surprise people?

And yes, you can still produce things in the west as long as you keep labor costs as low as possible. So products that's coming right of machines and so on.

The production of discrete passives creates very little employment. The choice of location for a factory has more to do with land cost, infrastructure and the available financing deals. A big component of infrastructure is who will pick up the bill for the pollution created by the plant. Sweet financing deals can include grants and tax breaks, which can substantially affect the viability of the venture.

Access to raw materials is also very important. China is the leading producer of most raw materials, so it's an ideal place to manufacture many things, from screws to capacitors.

[coppice]

Does this really surprise people?

And yes, you can still produce things in the west as long as you keep labor costs as low as possible. So products that's coming right of machines and so on.

The production of discrete passives creates very little employment. The choice of location for a factory has more to do with land cost, infrastructure and the available financing deals. A big component of infrastructure is who will pick up the bill for the pollution created by the plant. Sweet financing deals can include grants and tax breaks, which can substantially affect the viability of the venture.

Access to raw materials is also very important. China is the leading producer of most raw materials, so it's an ideal place to manufacture many things, from screws to capacitors.

China is a major producer of a number of high value raw materials, like rare earths. However, they are a huge importer of most bulky raw materials. This is why they do so much to develop mining in Africa, and why the Australian economy is so dependent on a stable economy in China.

[ebclr]

Maybe this is also fake

[wraper]

Maybe this is also fake

[Nusa]

What does any of that have to do with getting caught conspiring to fix prices in the US market?

[T3sl4co1l]

Does this really surprise people?

And yes, you can still produce things in the west as long as you keep labor costs as low as possible. So products that's coming right of machines and so on.

The production of discrete passives creates very little employment. The choice of location for a factory has more to do with land cost, infrastructure and the available financing deals. A big component of infrastructure is who will pick up the bill for the pollution created by the plant. Sweet financing deals can include grants and tax breaks, which can substantially affect the viability of the venture.

This.

This is why Foxconn is building a factory in Wisconsin.  "We" gave them a few billion dollars to build here, and in return, they'll "create" a few thousand jobs.  Those jobs have been, in effect, subsidized by the taxpayer, and will never pay out.  It's money better spent investing in other business, or other communities, but alas, we have current administrations to thank for this...

The lesson learned is: if you have a million-dollar idea (or more), leaders the world over will bend over for you, to get you special deals and everything.  They want you, more than you want them.  You have the negotiating power.  (Ah, but the little people, what do we get?  Right.)

Tim

[coppice]

This is why Foxconn is building a factory in Wisconsin.  "We" gave them a few billion dollars to build here, and in return, they'll "create" a few thousand jobs.  Those jobs have been, in effect, subsidized by the taxpayer, and will never pay out.  It's money better spent investing in other business, or other communities, but alas, we have current administrations to thank for this...

Foxconn is very much committed to eliminating as much employment as possible, through high investment in robots. I can't imagine they will build an entirely new plant in a high labour cost country and not make it an automation showpiece.

[ebclr]

And the result will be consumers paying a very high price for the US product, compared to the "lovely Chinese one" and fewer people will buy.

[T3sl4co1l]

About the only upside I can think of is they're close to the local Amazon fulfillment depot.  (Which, speaking of jobs that will soon be predominantly robotic...)

Tim

[Red Squirrel]

I like the puns in the article. 

Capacitor maker zapped with price-fixing charge
Shocking development in the current affairs circuit