May 24 - RoHS Regulations Pushing Competition, Higher Prices in the Marketplace
Purchasing.com recently reported on the tight availability and long lead times on ROHS-compliant lead-free resisters (soldering), and lead times on other lead-free devices are taking even longer. While manufacturers are quickly trying to purge their inventories of incompliant products before July 1st, the demand for toxic-free products is on the rise. Manufacturers concur that maintaining dual inventories is too expensive, and demand for compliant devices is expected to rise significantly in 2006 for some companies as is the price tag for incompliant devices.
Buyers can expect tight supply and higher prices for lead-terminated resistors because most resistor manufacturers have transitioned to lead-free production to meet the requirements of the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.
While leadtimes for RoHS-compliant resistors are stable at about six to eight weeks, deliveries are stretching for lead-bearing devices. In some cases, leadtimes are out 20-25 weeks.
Assembly Bill 2202 (Saldaña) will expand a provision SB 20/50 that requires manufacturers to phase out the use of hazardous materials in Covered Electronic Devices to virtually all consumer electronics. AB 2202, which shadows the progress of the EU RoHS Directive, will prohibit the sale of any electronic device that contains non-essential mercury, cadmium, lead or hexavalent chromium after July 1, 2008.
What you can do:
• Send an e-mail to your Assembly Member urging their support for AB 2202
• Send a support letter for AB 2202 on behalf of your organization