PVinsights: Solar prices fall on worries about oversupply

Solar price fell this week amid sign of a global oversupply and evidence that producers have now adapted to lower prices. Due to the shrinking demand in China, the 2nd tier Chinese module manufacturers, who heavily depend on the domestic demand and rapidly expand production capacities, have suffered most severely with increasing stockpiles. Due to the entry limitation by trade barriers in EU and the US, the 2nd tier producers enhance fierce price competition in China, India, and emerging countries to get rid of the stockpiles. Although 1st tier Chinese module makers intend to stabilize the price quotes, the attempt is limited in success due to the pressurized prices offered by the 2nd tier suppliers.

Solar price fell this week amid sign of a global oversupply and evidence that producers have now adapted to lower prices. Due to the shrinking demand in China, the 2nd tier Chinese module manufacturers, who heavily depend on the domestic demand and rapidly expand production capacities, have suffered most severely with increasing stockpiles. Due to the entry limitation by trade barriers in EU and the US, the 2nd tier producers enhance fierce price competition in China, India, and emerging countries to get rid of the stockpiles. Although 1st tier Chinese module makers intend to stabilize the price quotes, the attempt is limited in success due to the pressurized prices offered by the 2nd tier suppliers. Therefore, in EU and the US, solar panel prices are also being pressured as 1st tier Chinese module makers seek to increase the shipments via its overseas capacities to compensate the worse-than-anticipated sales in China. The vicious competition among Chinese module makers have also forced non-Chinese suppliers to adapt lower price quotes, leading the overall solar panel prices drop extensively this week.


While demand growth in China slowed, multi-crystalline cells are left in oversupply, killing profits and pushing down price to fresh low this week. The procurements of multi-crystalline cells have seen sharply decline as weakening demand reduces the appetite of buyers. Yet most of solar cell makers have not lowered the production utilization rates accordingly, worsening the oversupply situation of multi-crystalline cells. Amid serious imbalance of supply and demand, price competitions among solar cell makers have elevated in attempt to secure the limited orders, sending multi-crystalline cell price hit a record low this week. As the multi-crystalline stocks in China remain stubbornly high, some solar cell makers prioritize productions of mono-crystalline cell as aim for higher margin. Nevertheless, the demand weakness has quickly spillover to mono-crystalline products after the installation rush ended in June 30th. Hence, with the slashed demand and swelled supply, mono-crystalline cell price have seen enlarged correction following the plummet of multi-crystalline cell prices this week.

Multi-crystalline wafer price drops extensively this week. The slumped downstream prices have hampered the bargaining power of multi-crystalline wafer suppliers, forcing the leading multi-crystalline to offer further price reductions. Meanwhile, the expanded capacities of the 2nd and 3rd tier wafer suppliers continue to ramp up, swelling the overflowing stocks. Nevertheless, amid pessimistic sentiment, multi-crystalline wafer buyers tend to be more cautious in releasing orders. Hence, with slashed downstream prices and worsening oversupply, the price slump of multi-crystalline wafer accelerates this week. Similarly, mono-crystalline wafer price also falls drastically this week, as the leading mono-crystalline wafer maker adopts strategy to curtail the price gap with multi-crystalline wafer and the downstream demand also wanes noticeably.

In response to demand weakness and wafer price slumps, polysilicon suppliers in China and outside China are pressured to offer further price reduction this week. Meanwhile, as most polysilicon suppliers have retrieved production rates to full, worsening oversupply have pushed polysilicon prices to decline further. Chinese polysilicon suppliers have lowered price quote noticeably this week as the downstream demand remain sluggish. On the other hand, polysilicon prices outside of China are also being pressured as constrained by the price decline in Chinese market. Consequently, as the outlook of the demand turns more bearish, the weakening downstream prices have led the polysilicon price to perform poorly as well.

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