Global laptop shipments are expected to fall 26 percent this quarter as the COVID-19 outbreak in China continues to wreak havoc across the supply chain, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report yesterday.
While laptop shipments last month were largely spared by the effects of the outbreak, shipments this month are expected to take the biggest hit of the quarter, assuming that the outbreak could soon be contained, the Taipei-based market researcher said.
The laptop supply chain faces significant disruptions in China — where essential parts, such as printed circuit boards, batteries, hinges, polarizers, and passive and metal components are made — as production is delayed by local governments’ efforts to stem the epidemic, it said.
While some laptop makers might resort to sourcing necessary materials elsewhere, TrendForce said that suppliers from manufacturing regions outside of China do not possess enough production capacity to close the gap.
Meanwhile, as provinces in China tighten their border controls and enforce stricter quarantine measures, production across the laptop industry is also confronted with a labor shortage, as well as logistics and transportation restrictions, it said.
Even the supply of metal ores situated upstream is starting to be cut off, TrendForce said, adding that it could heavily affect the supply chain and lead to a drop in component production, which would in turn upset shipment schedules of laptops.
It forecast this month’s shipments at 5.7 million units, which is sharply lower than the 10.8 million units predicted earlier.
As a result, laptop makers this quarter could ship 27.5 million units, compared with 36.97 million units in the same quarter last year, its data showed.
However, it said that first-quarter shipments might further decline if COVID-19 spreads further, affecting production next month.
Overall production capacity from laptop manufacturers would not return to normal levels before next quarter, with a gradual ramp-up in plant utilization expected to take place in April at the earliest, TrendForce said.
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