HP Warns Distributors That Japanese Earthquake Will Impact Toner Cartridge Availability
U.S.-based HP has long relied on Japan-based Canon to manufacture its toner cartridges and laser printers, leaving HP particularly susceptible to any shortages resulting from the Japanese earthquake. Image source: Photos.com.
When parts of Japan were devastated by a terrible earthquake a month ago, there seemed little doubt that the printer and supplies industry would be seriously impacted and there would be shortages of some key products. Now, according to an April 12 CRN article, it seems that the industry’s top vendor, HP, which is dependent on Canon for production of laser printers and MFPs and toner cartridges, has sent a letter to various partners indicating that it is concerned about the future availability of certain toner cartridges and LaserJet devices. According to the CRN story, HP has warned its partners that in response to potential shortages it is restricting distribution of some toner cartridges. According to an email that we received, there are several affected toner cartridges, listed in the table below.
HP has been experiencing shortages of the HP CE285A (or 85A) toner cartridge for months now, and just before the earthquake struck, we had heard that another SKU, the CE278A (or 78A), was in short supply (see “HP Toner Cartridge Shortage: It’s Not Over”). Canon had problems in ramping up production to meet demand for certain HP toner SKUs before the disaster in Japan, and now the firm obviously faces an even bigger challenge. Some of its manufacturing facilities have been offline for weeks, and transportation systems and other key infrastructure in Japan have been disrupted. Although more manufacturing facilities in Japan are coming back online, all it takes is a disruption somewhere in the supply chain, a shortage of a crucial component in a toner cartridge or laser printer, to impact Canon’s ability to manufacture finished SKUs. HP is obviously expecting to see some shortages and is taking the necessary steps to limit their impact by rationing distribution of some toner cartridges.
We expect to hear more such news in the weeks ahead. As shortages occur, the law of supply and demand would seem to dictate that price increases will follow. We have an in-depth update on the crisis in Japan and its impact on the printer and supplies industry in the works. Bookmark our website, subscribe to our RSS feed, or follow us on Twitter to stay informed.
Read more of our coverage of the crisis in Japan:
Crisis in Japan and the Printer, Copier, and Supplies Industries: Part 1—The Events and the OEMs
Amid Concerns about Radiation in Japan, Canon U.S.A. Issues Statement on Imported Products
HP Updates SEC on Effect of Japanese Earthquake on Its Business
Tags: Canon, disaster and recovery, HP, manufacturing capacity, product shortages
2 Responses to HP Warns Distributors That Japanese Earthquake Will Impact Toner Cartridge Availability
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I’ve been following your articles about the impact of Japan natural disaster on the print industry – great info. But it seems that by now we should be seeing bigger impact – or warnings about delays/shortages impending. For instance HP warns distributors about toner shortages but what about hardware/parts? I’d love to hear your opinion.
Catherine Engleman - May 17, 2011
2:11 pm
Hi Catherine,
Just today, I wrote about Lexmark’s expectations that the Japanese earthquake will have some impact on availability of Lexmark laser hardware (see http://www.action-intell.com/2011/05/17/lexmark-says-japanese-earthquake-will-impact-supply-chain/) And Lexmark doesn’t even have manufacturing facilities in Japan–but the company did have partners that manufactured components there and were impacted. It’s a topic we continue to follow with interest. What will be telling is various vendors’ financial reports for the March-June quarter. Stay tuned for more!
Best regards,
Christina
AI staff - May 17, 2011
10:52 pm