Despite the launch of a new MacBook Pro series by Apple Inc, Taiwanese PC vendor Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) is expected to surpass the US consumer electronics giant in notebook computer shipments this year, according to market advisory firm TrendForce Corp (集邦科技).
Citing a research report, the Taipei-based company said that Asustek is likely to ship 16.8 million notebooks to take a 10.6 percent share of the global market, while Apple’s shipments would reach 13 million units, representing an 8.2 percent share.
As a result, Apple, which is unlikely to see a significant boost from the launch of its new MacBook Pro series on Thursday, would see its global position fall one place to fifth this year, while Asustek would retain fourth place, the firm said.
Last year, Apple and Asustek each shipped 17 million notebooks, representing a 10.3 percent share in the global market, to tie for fourth place.
Major PC brands are still feeling the pinch from a slowdown in the global PC market, but Apple is expected to witness a steeper shipment decline than Asustek this year, the report said.
In terms of overall global shipments, TrendForce said that 157 million notebooks would be sold worldwide this year, a decrease of 4.3 percent from last year’s 164 million units.
TOP THREE
Shipments of the top three vendors — HP Inc, Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) and Dell Inc — would reach 35.1 million units, 33.6 million units and 23.7 million units this year respectively, TrendForce said.
The three vendors are expected to take a 22.3 percent, 21.4 percent and 15 percent share of the global market respectively, the company said.
Acer Inc (宏碁) is expected to ship 13 million notebooks this year, down from 14.7 million units last year, TrendForce said.
That would give Acer an 8.2 percent share of the global market, and put it in the same position as Apple as the fifth-biggest notebook computer vendor, TrendForce said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the