Component shortages cause 6% decline in 3Q22 optical transport systems sales: Dell’Oro
Ongoing supply chain shortages combined with currency fluctuations to send optical transport equipment sales revenues to $3.4 billion in the third quarter of 2022, a 6% year-on-year decline according to the latest Optical Transport Quarterly Report from Dell’Oro Group. Demand for optical transport systems remains strong, however.
“The main culprit for this market revenue decline was the lack of component supply needed to make finished goods,” commented Jimmy Yu, vice president at Dell’Oro and author of the report. “Optical vendors have a growing amount of backlog due to higher demand for DWDM equipment but are not able to deliver completed systems when they are short on one component or two. Another factor lowering the market revenue is the strengthening U.S. dollar. Since the market revenue is based on US dollars, most sales in Europe and Asia are converted to fewer U.S. dollars and reducing the reported market size.”
As an example of this last factor, sales of WDM equipment for long-haul and metro applications in 3Q22 shrank 5% versus the year-ago quarter. However, Dell’Oro estimates that, on a constant currency basis, such revenues actually grew by as much as 1%.
Not surprisingly, the revenue tally for Europe suffered significantly due to the lower conversion of the euro to the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, the Russian-Ukraine war dampened overall demand. North America managed to avoid a plunge into negative territory, staying “slightly positive,” according to the market research firm.
Dell’Oro’s Optical Transport Quarterly Report covers the market with tables highlighting manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and unit shipments (by speed including 100 Gbps, 200 Gbps, 400 Gbps, and 800 Gbps). The report tracks DWDM long haul, WDM metro, multiservice multiplexers (SONET/SDH), optical switch, optical packet platforms, data center interconnect (metro and long haul), and disaggregated WDM.
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About the Author
Stephen Hardy
Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.