The nation’s leading contract notebook computer manufacturers should see shipments regain growth momentum this quarter, after shipments weakened last quarter due to supply constraints and the effect of the Lunar New Year holiday, local media reported last week.
However, it remains unclear how shipments from the nation’s five major notebook computer original design manufacturers (ODMs) would fare in the second half of the year, amid uncertainty over possible key component shortages, logistics bottlenecks due to COVID-19 lockdowns and rising inflationary pressure, the reports said.
The five companies are Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), Wistron Corp (緯創), Inventec Corp (英華達) and Pegatron Corp (和碩). As Taiwan’s notebook computer ODMs account for more than 90 percent of global production, their shipment momentum has a high correlation with the dynamic of the global market.
Photo: Reuters
Global notebook computer shipments grew 19 percent year-on-year to 268 million units last year because of strong commercial demand in the final quarter of the year, Boston-based research firm Strategy Analytics said in a report on Jan. 31.
Strategy Analytics attributed the fourth-quarter performance to Windows 11 enterprise upgrades, which gave Windows notebook computers a boost during the quarter across all regions, despite a slowdown in Chromebook demand in the second half of last year.
In the first quarter of this year, shipments from the nation’s top five notebook ODMs reached 41.6 million to 41.7 million units, representing a quarterly decrease of nearly 20 percent, according to data compiled from the companies’ latest revenue updates released on Friday.
Quanta, the world’s largest contract notebook maker, shipped 16.9 million units last quarter, down 15 percent quarterly and 11 percent annually, while Compal, the world’s No. 2 contract laptop maker, reported shipments of 11.8 million units, down 26.7 percent from the previous quarter and 9.9 percent lower than a year earlier, company data showed.
Wistron, Inventec and Pegatron reported shipments of 5.6 million, 5 million and 2.3 million to 2.4 million units respectively, down 25.66 percent, 10.71 percent and 20 percent from the previous quarter.
On a yearly basis, the three makers’ shipments increased from 3.7 percent to 5 percent, as demand for hybrid work environments supported the developed market’s growth, while customers’ shift toward mobility boosted the emerging market.
The five ODMs said they have clear order visibility through the end of the first half of the year, with Inventec expecting a slight growth in notebook shipments this quarter, while Compal and Wistron forecast shipments would grow about 10 percent compared with the first quarter.
Pegatron also maintained its previous forecast and estimated that second-quarter shipments would increase by 25 to 30 percent from the first quarter, but Quanta said it was difficult to provide guidance for second-quarter shipments due to uncertainties.
Given the lingering shortage of key components and lockdowns in Shanghai and Kunshan, China, the five ODMs said that the adverse effects from the disease prevention measures on the notebook computer supply chain were expected to emerge later this month, local media reported.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would also affect the European market, while rising global inflation and port congestion would also impact shipments in the second half of the year, the companies said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS