The shortage of pick-up heads (PUHs) for DVD-ROM drives is continuing, but some Japanese PUH suppliers indicate no plans to expand output, believing that some relief will come around in November. The supply crunch started surfacing in September as distributors moved to replenish inventory, and now is getting worse in the run-up to the holiday season...

Running low on key components for optical drives, manufacturers such as Lite-On IT, BenQ, Ultima Electronics, Behavior Tech Computer (BTC) and AOpen currently fulfill only up to 80-90% of their DVD-ROM orders and have to delay other orders by two to four weeks, industry sources said.

Despite that, main PUH makers are wary of adding supply because the shortage is due largely to the seasonal factor rather than a broad-based recovery in demand. Taiwan Hitachi predicted that the shortage will ease in mid-November when shipments for the year-end period come to an end.

Sanyo and Pioneer also said they do not have immediate plans to increase production.