Laptop Industry Faces Battery Shortages

Notebook computer industry is affected by a shortage of laptop batteries, partly because of a recent fire at a plant of LG Chem, the second biggest South Korean battery cell maker, Reuters reports.

The fire at the major battery supplier has caused an increase of battery prices, Dell Inc. said adding that it works with other suppliers to limit the price growth.

Financial Times writes Hewlett-Packard’s consumer products are likely to be hardest-hit, “since HP products for the consumer market account for more than 50 per cent of LG Chem’s shipments.”

According to a source at Asustek, the company expects to miss its shipment target of 1 million Asus Eee PCs for the first quarter by more than 300,000 units, because of the fire.

FT reports that battery supplies are expected to fall short of demand at least until June and probably well into the third quarter of this year.

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