Concerns Mounting Coronavirus Could Hurt Supply Chain

Concerns mounted last week that China's coronavirus could affect U.S. tech and other supply chains. Apple (see 2001290020) and Silicon Labs (see 2001290020) were among those discussing the outbreak. "The escalating coronavirus crisis is impacting production at display panel factories located in the semi-quarantined city of Wuhan, China, spurring a significant near-term reduction in the global supply of panels used in liquid crystal display televisions (LCDs) and other products," wrote IHS analyst David Hsieh Friday. "Leading Chinese suppliers of LCD panels for TVs, notebook PCs and PC monitors now are planning to raise panel prices more aggressively." Contract manufacturer Flex deployed “response teams” in China, taking “proactive steps” to help employees weather the coronavirus outbreak, said CEO Revathi Advaithi Thursday evening on a call for fiscal Q3 ended Dec. 31. “We are actively monitoring this developing situation, and we'll work hard to limit business disruptions.” It’s too early to “quantify any potential impact as the situation is evolving,” she said.