Worldwide demand for CD-R discs is forecast to ease in 2002 after years of staggering growth, rising 12.3% from last year to 5.639 billion units, said the Taiwan-based Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA). Total production value, meanwhile, will fall for the second consecutive year, by US$61 million to US$1.194 billion, hurt by weak prices amid a global oversupply.

The present overcapacity in CD-R discs – as evidenced by the 13% year-to-year growth in monthly capacity to 638 million units in the first half – is not likely to be alleviated until manufacturers shift production from CD-R discs to the more advanced, recordable DVD-R discs. However, a full adoption of DVD-R discs may take years to happen, PIDA noted.