# Canon's Supply Chain Back to Normal by end of June?



## Canon Rumors Guy (May 21, 2011)

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<p><strong>Canon’s Supply Chain Will Recover Faster Than Expected</strong>

(Reuters) – Japanese camera and copier maker Canon Inc (7751.T) expects its quake-hit supply chain to recover more quickly than originally estimated, giving a roughly 50 billion yen ($600 million) boost to its annual sales, the company’s chief executive said.</p>
<p>Fujio Mitarai also told Reuters in an interview that the company may expand a factory under construction in Kyushu, southern Japan, as part of a strategy to diversify its production of key parts.</p>
<p>Last month Canon lowered its annual earnings forecasts and said a recovery in its supply chain, which was disrupted by Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami, was not expected until June or July.</p>
<p>“As those involved in parts production have been giving it their best, we expect supplies to arrive sooner than we had predicted,” Mitarai said in an interview late on Tuesday in Shanghai.</p>
<p><!--more-->“We now forecast (production) to return to normal by the end of June.”</p>
<p>Mitarai said the faster-than-expected recovery of its supply chain would likely boost its sales. The company is currently forecasting revenue of 3.73 trillion yen for the year to December.</p>
<p>“I am hoping it would lift our sales by around 50 billion yen,” he said.</p>
<p>One of the biggest risks facing the company, he said, was a potential power shortage in Japan following a crisis at a nuclear power plant in the quake-hit northeast.</p>
<p>DIVERSIFYING PARTS PRODUCTION</p>
<p>As part of its strategy to diversify is production base for key parts, Canon may eventually beef up operations at its Hita factory in Kyushu, which is currently under construction, Mitarai said.</p>
<p>The disruption of parts supply in Japan has affected a wide range of electronics makers, including many overseas such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Texas Instruments (TXN.N).</p>
<p>Xerox Corp (XRX.N) said last month it saw some product constraints in the middle of the second quarter due to the March disaster and did not expect a full-product recovery until later this year.</p>
<p>Mitarai said his company was also considering increasing production lines at its two factories in southern China’s Guangdong province.</p>
<p>Like many foreign companies operating in China, Mitarai warned that rising labor costs could eat into margins in the near term.</p>
<p>“We must gradually adopt a more efficient system in China that saves manpower, and change our product line up to one with more added-value,” he said.</p>
<p>“But if you look at it over the longer term or from a more macro perspective, rising wages will also lift peoples’ purchasing power and so it’s not a bad thing at all.”</p>
<p>Demand for single-lens reflex cameras — high-end models with interchangeable lenses — is expected to remain strong, supported by the continued expansion of the middle class in emerging economies, Mitarai said.</p>
<p>Canon is also very open to overseas acquisitions in the medical and high-tech sectors although nothing specific is planned at the moment, he said.</p>
<p>Shares of Canon, which takes its name from the Buddhist goddess of mercy, were flat in early trade in Tokyo at 3,725 yen while the benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was up 0.5 percent.</p>
<p>($1 = 81.425 Japanese Yen)</p>
<p><em>thanks Paolo</em></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
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## photogjs (May 21, 2011)

Does this mean that we may actually see August 2010's Lenses, specifically the 300mm Mk II anytime soon?


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## Admin US West (May 21, 2011)

I noticed that a large number of stores suddenly have 35mm L lenses in stock, so shipments are starting to come thru.


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## idigi (May 22, 2011)

photogjs said:


> Does this mean that we may actually see August 2010's Lenses, specifically the 300mm Mk II anytime soon?


Yes, with a stamp "Made in China" 



> â€œWe must gradually adopt a more efficient system in China that saves manpower, and change our product line up to one with more added-value,â€ he said.


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## idigi (May 22, 2011)

scalesusa said:


> I noticed that a large number of stores suddenly have 35mm L lenses in stock, so shipments are starting to come thru.


The one I just received has a code UZ0209. So it was manufactured in February 2011, before the earthquake.


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## hutjeflut (May 22, 2011)

and i expect prices wil keep going up anyway just because people are stupid enough to buy it anyway


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## idigi (May 22, 2011)

hutjeflut said:


> and i expect prices wil keep going up anyway just because people are stupid enough to buy it anyway


And what other choice do we have - not to buy them and complain about prices?
Some people have to buy lenses for work and don't have a choice either.

p.s. Everything is going up. Gasoline and gold is at all time high, yet people don't stop buying. Are they stupid, too?


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## Admin US West (May 22, 2011)

hutjeflut said:


> and i expect prices wil keep going up anyway just because people are stupid enough to buy it anyway



Prices have been running $1700 - $2000 for the 35mm L. Amazon now has it for $1479. I paid about $1369 for mine last July before the price increases.


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## hutjeflut (May 24, 2011)

idigi said:


> hutjeflut said:
> 
> 
> > and i expect prices wil keep going up anyway just because people are stupid enough to buy it anyway
> ...



if all people hat dont NEED it to work dont buy it it becomes cheaper soonas shops and caonon will suffer from no sales at all.
buying something to expencive justifies the price screwing a lot of people just because someone has to much money.


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## hutjeflut (May 24, 2011)

scalesusa said:


> hutjeflut said:
> 
> 
> > and i expect prices wil keep going up anyway just because people are stupid enough to buy it anyway
> ...



amerecans are generaly speaking lucky if i could buy in dollars i wouldnt complain buy sadly i have to pay in euro's and in one of the most expencive coutrys for camera gear (netherlands) UK wich normaly is rather expencive is for most camera products to 40% cheaper.

as for your 35L lens here its 1330 euro wich comes down to about 1900 dollar.

edit: i forgot to mention that in dec 2009 the 35L lens was 999 euro wich is a 330 euro difference wich makes a 470 dollar raise in price over 2 years cant be bothered to calculate that in a %age but you can do that yourself and see its crazy.


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## idigi (May 24, 2011)

[quote author=hutjeflut]
edit: i forgot to mention that in dec 2009 the 35L lens was 999 euro wich is a 330 euro difference wich makes a 470 dollar raise in price over 2 years cant be bothered to calculate that in a %age but you can do that yourself and see its crazy.
[/quote]
In Summer 2008, the price of 35L was below $1100 in US:
http://www.canonpricewatch.com/product/00026/Canon-EF-35mm-f1.4L-USM-price.html

From the graph, you can see that the price of this particular lens was constantly going up since then. It hit all time high after the earthquake. However, I doubt prices will come down much, if any, later. Look at the prices of new tele zooms, as an example.

The only way I can see prices going down, or at least being steady, is if Canon starts manufacturing in China.


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