Solar industry faces supply chain and logistics issues

The solar industry is facing a slew of issues this year including prices of steel and aluminium, and a surge in freight costs. SolarEdge Technologies, a US-domiciled power optimiser, solar inverter, and monitoring systems for photovoltaic arrays, has fallen by 16% in about four months after warning that margins will diminish a little in the coming months during logistics-related cost pressures. The solar industry has been facing a sequence of problems this year involving higher prices for steel and aluminium plus an increase in freight costs. SolarEdge's disclosure came a week after rival solar-parts maker Enphase Energy said that there is no sign the worldwide shortage of semiconductor components will subside any time soon. Jeff Osborne, an analyst at Cowen & Company, said that all of them impact gross margins, and gross-margin trends historically have been leading indicators of how to trade the stocks. Last month, Maxeon Solar Technologies told the media that the solar industry faces pervasive upstream supply chain cost challenges. The panel manufacturer said that elevated costs for glass, solar cells, and freight might persist well into the second half of 2021. Image SourceAlso read: Exploring AI options in logistics and supply chain sector