Shipments of the four major Taiwanese contract notebook computer makers are expected to rise about 20 percent this month from a month earlier on the back of the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system, market analysts said on Saturday.
Since the Windows 8 operating system will make its debut on Oct. 26, international notebook computer brands are likely to issue large orders to the four contract manufacturers in the supply chain this week for the launch of their new models equipped with the system, they said.
In addition to the effect of the Windows 8 debut, the inventory level of the notebook computer industry has hit a recent low to lift demand after recent efforts in adjustments, they added.
The four major contract notebook computers in Taiwan are Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), Wistron Corp (緯創) and Inventec Corp (英業達).
Significant growth in shipments from the four is expected to continue next month, the analysts said.
Quanta, the world’s largest notebook computer ODM services provider, said there are signs of a recovery in shipments this month due to the planned launch of new models and a subsequent shift from stagnated demand seen over the previous two months.
The company said it expects shipments for this month to reach at least 5.2 million units, up more than 20 percent from last month, to push the third quarter shipments to an amount close to the second-quarter level of 13.90 million units.
Quanta’s shipments in July and last month totaled 4.5 million units and 4.2 million respectively, the company said.
Market analysts said although Quanta’s shipments for the third quarter could stay little changed from the second quarter, a rise in product prices is expected to boost the company’s sales for the period from July to this month by between 15 percent and 20 percent from a quarter earlier.
In the second quarter, Quanta posted NT$237.52 billion in sales, up 0.5 percent from the first quarter.
Wistron said a recovery in shipments for this month is expected to help the company boost the total for the third quarter to a level similar to the second quarter’s 7.8 million units or slightly higher.
The company said shipment growth for next month is likely to become more obvious when consumers resume buying after the launch of new Windows 8 models.
However, market sentiment toward the entire fourth quarter remains cautious with many analysts watching closely whether the effect of the new Windows 8 models will keep stirring up buying interest amid the weakness of the world’s economic fundamentals.
CHIP RACE: Three years of overbroad export controls drove foreign competitors to pursue their own AI chips, and ‘cost US taxpayers billions of dollars,’ Nvidia said China has figured out the US strategy for allowing it to buy Nvidia Corp’s H200s and is rejecting the artificial intelligence (AI) chip in favor of domestically developed semiconductors, White House AI adviser David Sacks said, citing news reports. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would allow shipments of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, part of an administration effort backed by Sacks to challenge Chinese tech champions such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) by bringing US competition to their home market. On Friday, Sacks signaled that he was uncertain about whether that approach would work. “They’re rejecting our chips,” Sacks
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
NATIONAL SECURITY: Intel’s testing of ACM tools despite US government control ‘highlights egregious gaps in US technology protection policies,’ a former official said Chipmaker Intel Corp has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by US sanctions, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Intel, which fended off calls for its CEO’s resignation from US President Donald Trump in August over his alleged ties to China, got the tools from ACM Research Inc, a Fremont, California-based producer of chipmaking equipment. Two of ACM’s units, based in Shanghai and South Korea, were among a number of firms barred last year from receiving US technology over claims they have
BARRIERS: Gudeng’s chairman said it was unlikely that the US could replicate Taiwan’s science parks in Arizona, given its strict immigration policies and cultural differences Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登), which supplies wafer pods to the world’s major semiconductor firms, yesterday said it is in no rush to set up production in the US due to high costs. The company supplies its customers through a warehouse in Arizona jointly operated by TSS Holdings Ltd (德鑫控股), a joint holding of Gudeng and 17 Taiwanese firms in the semiconductor supply chain, including specialty plastic compounds producer Nytex Composites Co (耐特) and automated material handling system supplier Symtek Automation Asia Co (迅得). While the company has long been exploring the feasibility of setting up production in the US to address
RSS