The sale of smartphones produced in Tierra del Fuego will close 2018 with a drop of more than 2 million units compared to last year, the sector estimated.
"Idle capacity is generally between 40% and 45%," said the head of the Association of Electronic Terminal Manufacturers (Afarte), Federico Hellemeyer.
The businessman specified that while in 2017 More than 10 million units were produced, this year it will close at "a little more than 8 million" smartphones manufactured.
As he explained, "the drop in consumption in the first months of the second half compared to last year is between 35% and 40%" and that the economic situation caused "people to extend the useful life of their equipment."
He also detailed that in the case of smartphones, the decrease in the final sale of equipment is added to the factor that "the retailer that previously had 20 devices in the warehouse and now has ten."
Hellemeyer referred to mobile communications operators - which have 60% of smartphone sales - and smartphone sellers, both brand stores and chains.
This second group, the businessman said, "is lightening their inventories, because with these rates no one wants to have stock." Hellemeyer noted that "at a global level, mobile phones that previously had a useful life of 12 to 18 months today reach 24 and even 33 months."
Analyst Enrique Carrier pointed to the sharp devaluation of the peso coupled with accelerating inflation as a determining factor in the decline in equipment production and sales. Both factors created an explosive combination, especially for a product with a high cost component in dollars.
Updated on: 30/11/2018 00:00:00
