The combined value of domestic electronics equipment production in 2001 is estimated to have fallen 15.3 percent from the previous year to 22.16 trillion yen, marking a record year-on-year decline, the Japan Electronics & Information Technology Industries Association said Wednesday.

JEITA Chairman Yoichi Morishita attributed the drop to the global slump in the information technology industry after the burst of the IT bubble in the United States in late 2000.

He also pointed to structural problems in Japanese makers' production systems as another major reason.

"As more and more Japanese makers commissioned electronics manufacturing services firms to produce electronic devices overseas, their inventories increased more quickly than the makers expected," said Morishita, who also serves as the chairman of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

As for the current year, however, the association predicted that overall production will increase 0.7 percent from the previous year to 22.32 trillion yen.

The outlook reflects a recovery in demand for products, including digital cameras, car navigation systems and electronic devices, as the U.S. economy is expected to start recovering in the second half of this year, association officials said.

By category, the total value of consumer electronic products is projected to decrease 2 percent from the previous year to 1.89 trillion yen, while electronic equipment for industrial use will increase 0.1 percent to 11.08 trillion yen. The value of electronic components, meanwhile, is expected to rise 2.1 percent to 9.35 trillion yen, according to the association.