Questions Sony’s Claim

The interview in the Nov. 1 Business section with Sony Chairman Akio Morita quotes him as claiming that Sony televisions are assembled primarily from U.S.-made components. This is quite an amazing claim. Most U.S. suppliers were driven out of the TV component market years ago by Japanese targeting and price-cutting. The survivors, of which my company is one, have had to compete with Japanese sources in the Asian markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong while the Japanese market was off limits to non-Japanese firms.

As recently as last year, we were told by Sony buyers in San Diego that there was no requirement for our product, since it was already contained in imported sub-assemblies. Just last week, we were told thatthere would be no requirement this year, but that we could send a product catalogue for consideration in the future. If any changes have in fact occurred in Sony policies, they are being implemented with glacial slowness and are not today’s reality, as Morita claims. Is Morita really buying more than token quantities of U.S. components, or is he just thinking about doing so?

HENRY P. CARR

Product Manager, Pico Farad Inc.

Anaheim