Domestic sales of printers and multifunctional peripherals (MFP) declined 7 percent quarterly in the second quarter because of weak demand in high-priced inkjet MFPs, according to a report released by International Data Corp (IDC) on Thursday.
A total of 165,461 printers were sold in Taiwan during the quarter ending June 30, IDC’s report showed.
That also represented a 7 percent contraction from the same quarter last year, according to the report.
The research firm attributed weak demand to sluggish demand for inkjet machines, which fell 17 percent quarter-on-quarter to 95,640 units in the second quarter. That was a 21 percent annual decline.
The sales figure was the lowest over the past few years, IDC said. Inkject printers and MFPs accounts for 61 percent of the nation’s total printer and MFP market, according to IDC.
To spur demand, “printer manufacturers Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) and Brother have launched new cost-saving printers to cater to price-sensitive users,” IDC Taiwan analyst Lin Hsuan-jui (林璿瑞) said in the report.
Epson Corp also launched a new range of cost-saving printers to broaden its product lineup, Lin said.
Lin expected printers with costs lower than NT$0.2 per page to become mainstream gradually.
However, sales of laser printers grew 13 percent quarter-on-quarter, or an annual expansion of 26 percent, to 62,067 units in the second quarter, IDC’s report showed.
The growth was driven by robust demand for entry-level printers that cost less than NT$2,000 per unit and MFP with a price tag of about NT$4,000, IDC Taiwan market analyst Apples Lu (呂孟蘋) said in the report.
In addition, replacement demand from the nation’s major convenience store operators also helped boost shipments, Lu said.
Lu expected that demand for laser printers and MFPs would continue to show robust demand in the second half due to strong seasonal demand and new government procurement projects.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last