Makers in the PC and handset supply chains in Taiwan are conservative about a business rebound in the second half of 2016 as well as the overall performance for the entire year amid unfavorable business news from the sectors, including layoffs at Intel and declining iPhone shipments.
Global PC shipments declined 10% on year in the first quarter of 2016, while demand for smartphones is saturating, making first-tier suppliers in the two segments ill at ease and second- and third-tier makers scrambling for orders at low prices, according to industry sources.
The decline in PC shipments in the first quarter of 2016 came after the industry saw global PC shipments shed 10.4% on year to 276 million units in 2015, according to IDC.
Among major vendors, Acer suffered the most and saw its shipments decrease over 15% on year in 2015, while Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Asustek Computer saw their shipments drop in a range of 3-7% during the same period.
Major PC ODMs and parts and components suppliers all saw their shipments decline on year in the first quarter of 2016 as brand PC vendors were conservative about demand from the end market and therefore were holding back their orders for parts and components, said the sources.
In the motherboard sector, Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology have been grabbing market share from second- and third-tier suppliers and have recently begun to take on Micro-Star International (MSI) and ASRock, indicated the sources.
Meanwhile, no major graphics card suppliers are expected to see a rebound in their shipments and profits in 2016 due to dwindling market demand, commented the sources.
On the other hand, suppliers in the iPhone supply chain are worried that Apple may reduce its orders in the coming quarters as sales of iPhone 6s have been lower-than-expected recently, said the sources.
Recent sales performance of Sony Mobile Communications and HTC were also lower-than-expected, while Asustek has lowered its smartphone shipment target for 2016.
