Digitimes Research tallied fourth-quarter 2011 solar module shipments of major China-based solar module firms. The ranking of the top five solar module makers by shipments changed significantly. Suntech remained the top solar module firm in China while Canadian Solar took second place. Trina Solar, Yingli Solar and LDK ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively. The prices of solar products fell sharply in 2011 eroding solar firms' gross margins, and they continue to fall in 2012.

China-based solar firms have been mixed about the prospect of 2012. Suntech is relatively conservative as it predicts shipment growth to be only 10%. Yingli Solar and Canadian Solar are more optimistic in predicting solar module shipments to grow by 40% in 2012 from 2011. LDK is the most optimistic as the firm predicts solar module shipments in 2012 to grow by 117%.

Unanimously, the firms are optimistic about China's domestic solar market and believe installations will reach 5GW. The firms estimate installations in the US market to hit above 3GW and Germany to decline to 2.5-3.5GW in 2012.

Digitimes Research found that fourth-quarter 2011 shipments from most China-based major solar module makers such as Yingli Solar, Suntech, Hanwha SolarOne and Jinko Solar declined. But Trina Solar and Canadian Solar saw fourth-quarter 2011 shipments increase due to strong demand in the US and Asia markets.

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