While COVID-19 has affected the supply chain of notebook PCs in China due to temporarily shutdowns, it has also driven the remote work and education demand, according to MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), a government think tank and IT research institute in Taiwan. Despite major PC manufacturers managed to resume production capacity by more than 90% at the end of March, the surge in demand for notebook PCs put a strain on supplies in the first quarter of 2020. “The rebound in laptop demand may not be enough to cover the loss from both the consumer and business sectors due to more conservative spending behavior during the pandemic period in the first half of the year,” said Wenhua Hsu, industry analyst with MIC. “With uncertain demand in the second half of the year, the global notebook shipment volume is forecast to still decline 4.6% year-on-year in 2020, reaching 153.5 million units.”

Worldwide Notebook PC Shipment Volume, 2015-2024

Source: MIC, May 2020

"Due to relatively low base in 2020 and the anticipated speed-up in consumption after a period of more conservative spending behavior in 2020, the global notebook PC shipments are anticipated to grow 4.9% year-on-year in 2021.”