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.
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
A proposed 100 percent tariff on chip imports announced by US President Donald Trump could shift more of Taiwan’s semiconductor production overseas, a Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) researcher said yesterday. Trump’s tariff policy will accelerate the global semiconductor industry’s pace to establish roots in the US, leading to higher supply chain costs and ultimately raising prices of consumer electronics and creating uncertainty for future market demand, Arisa Liu (劉佩真) at the institute’s Taiwan Industry Economics Database said in a telephone interview. Trump’s move signals his intention to "restore the glory of the US semiconductor industry," Liu noted, saying that
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
STILL UNCLEAR: Several aspects of the policy still need to be clarified, such as whether the exemptions would expand to related products, PwC Taiwan warned The TAIEX surged yesterday, led by gains in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), after US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping 100 percent tariff on imported semiconductors — while exempting companies operating or building plants in the US, which includes TSMC. The benchmark index jumped 556.41 points, or 2.37 percent, to close at 24,003.77, breaching the 24,000-point level and hitting its highest close this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed. TSMC rose NT$55, or 4.89 percent, to close at a record NT$1,180, as the company is already investing heavily in a multibillion-dollar plant in Arizona that led investors to assume