According to MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), an ICT industry research institute based in Taipei, shipment volume of the Greater China notebook PC industry arrived at around 36.1 million units in the first quarter of 2013, down 16.6% sequentially and 13.7% year-on-year. The sequential decline was expected as the first quarter is traditionally a weak season for notebook PCs. In addition, lackluster demand in the consumer market further dampened the notebook PC shipment in the first quarter of 2013. Coupled with the deferred replacement demand of notebook PCs, the industry's shipment volume in the second quarter of 2013 is anticipated to reach approximately 37.99 million units, representing a 5.4% sequential growth.
MIC's senior analyst Jane Yen indicates that the increased level of decline in the first quarter of 2013 was mainly ascribed to lukewarm market acceptance for Windows 8 models in the consumer market and the shortage of touch components. The shortage affected the shipment of entry-level and mid-range models that are more popularly sold.
As regards to notebook PC ASP (Average Selling Price), the continuously reduced share of netbook PCs, coupled with the increased prices of key components such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) are expected to help bolster notebook PC ASP. However, the shortage of touch-related key components led to a limited growth in touch notebook PCs' global share and an increase in shipment share of entry-level and mid-range models. Coupled with relatively modest market demand for notebook PCs, the notebook PC ASP dropped to US$477 in the first quarter of 2013, down from US$483 in the fourth quarter of 2012. MIC says that in the future, notebook PCs are likely to be continuously affected by the deferred purchase demand resulting from the erosion of notebook PCs by other mobile connected devices.
Analyst Yen reckons that in anticipation of new models powered by Intel's Haswell processor, to be launched around June, the pull-in demand for new models is expected to increase. In addition, with the improvement in production yield of touch sensors, the shortage of touch components will be alleviated, which not only will help increase the shipment share of touch-enabled notebook PCs but also will help boost notebook PC ASP.
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About MIC
Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC), based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english