Despite their pivotal role in the high technology value chain, electronic components are essentially a cyclical industry akin to older markets like steel and housing. As with steel and home building, growth expansion requires significant skills and capital expenditures, thus additions and reductions tend to be uneven and disruptive. And, like those industries, the willingness to get caught up in trend extrapolation has a powerful allure. Every participant in the chain gets caught up in the frenzy, thus the acceleration to the top and the inevitability of the cycle.
