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The impact of novel coronavirus has already wreaked havoc businesses around the world. From manufacturing to airlines, global supply chain and transportation, COVID-19 has caused all business functions to shut down. In the electronic sector, the impact of the pandemic is hazy as some parts of electronic segments have escaped from the outbreak thanks to an increase in the purchasing of electronics equipment from both consumers and businesses. On the other side, the virus outbreak is already affecting the electronics industry business across the world.

According to an IDC analysis, smartphone sales in China have reported a drop of over 30 percent in the January-March quarter. One another report from Canalys Researchers predicted that tech vendors are likely to halt marketing activities, as well as unlikely to focus on introducing new products, including 5G devices.

In India, the handset manufacturing industry is staring at close to INR 15,000 crore in losses as production halts amid the nationwide lockdown. Companies such as Foxconn, Flex and Wistron, which together make the bulk of the smartphones sold in India, are closing operations, reports noted.

Since the virus has caused countries worldwide to close borders and impose lockdown, this has affected the electronics industry in numerous ways, particularly as Wuhan, which is an electronics manufacturing hub. Electronics manufacturing companies now anticipate product shipment delay from suppliers due to the epidemic. According to IPC, a global electronics manufacturing association, shipping delays from China and other countries where the virus has hit hard are already having negative impacts on manufacturers.

The COVID-19 has made the electronics industry under pressure due to companies’ slowdown, state or city lockdowns, and the lack of workers across the world. The pandemic has put a massive strain on the sectors that depends on imports from China for their production as the country is the house of the manufactory of the world.

Several companies have already asserted that it would not meet their earlier announced sales estimates. Even some are also delaying the launch of various products due to the epidemic of COVID-19. As per research by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, two-thirds of US businesses operating in China expect demand to be lower due to lack of staff.

However, not all electronic product companies are suffering from the global crisis. Purchasing of some other electronics equipment is gearing up the industry as people globally are sent to shelter in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. Consumers began buying new electronics to support the shift to working from home, video conferencing, and to enhance their home entertainment experience. Aside from this, the demand of medical devices is also increased, tracking and logistics are busier than ever, food-packaging companies are grappling to keep up with increased demand, and electronic devices that allow companies to continue working during lockdown are still gearing up.