In the third quarter of 2008, traditionally the peak season of the year, the worldwide motherboard shipment volume was affected by the global economic slump, merely reaching 97.5% of the volume previously forecasted. Moreover, for the first time in recent years, third-quarter worldwide motherboard shipment volume posted a year-on-year decline of about 1%, arriving at approximately 40.5 million units. Shipment decline in the third quarter traditionally featuring relatively strong market demand is a grim reflection of the slackening growth momentum in the desktop computing sector.