Market Blossoms for Recordable, Rewritable CDs, Drives

摘要

The global market for recordable CDs (CD-Rs) and rewritable CDs (CD-RWs) continues to grow vigorously. The Japan Recording-Media Industries Association expects that the global market for CD-Rs will soar 76 percent this year to 320 million units. Meanwhile, the market for CD-RWs, which appeared for the first time in 1997, will total 30 million units. Prospects are even better for the market for CD-R and CD-RW drives. The industry expects a 150 percent increase in market size to 5.5 million units. Two trends are giving the market a powerful boost. One is the spread of personal computers, which has expanded the infrastructure for such drives. The second is the fall in CD-ROM prices, which has pushed CD-ROM drives into the consumer market. Recordable DVDs, DVD-RAM discs, Super Discs and other recording media could eat away at demand for CD-R discs and drives. Even so, the market for CD-R discs and drives will likely continue to climb steadily to reach 510 million discs and 14 million drives by 2000.