Walking out from under the gloom that dogged the industry up to the second quarter of 2003, the Taiwanese optical disk drive industry gained a new lease on life in the third quarter of 2003. Shipment volume grew 35.3% year on year to reach 26 million units, while value grew 25.7% from the same period in 2002, rising for the first time in 2003.
Following declines in the first and second quarter, shipment value for the first time in 2003 rose in step with shipment volume, bringing about an increase in ASP (Average Selling Price). Additionally, product mix saw a greater share of DVD-ROM, combo, and DVD recorder drives.
In the fourth quarter of 2003 seasonal factors pushing PC demand will translate into greater CD-ROM, CD-RW, and DVD-ROM demand. Additionally, as Taiwanese makers continuously roll out new models, such as 8x write-speed DVD recorder drives, and as combo models see a steadily increasing share of shipments, volume is expected to hit 29 million units.